Governor Healey continues to reduce caseload, lower taxpayer costs and exit more families to permanent housing

Boston - The number of families in Emergency Assistance Shelter fell below 5,000 this week for the first time since July 2023. The number of hotels used for Emergency Shelter has been cut by more than half and is on track to eliminate the use of hotels by the end of the year. Approximately 75 percent of families seeking shelter are longtime Massachusetts families. This is a direct result of actions taken by Governor Maura Healey to reduce caseload and costs to taxpayers. 

Additional reforms proposed by Governor Healey went into effect last Friday that will further build on this progress. These reforms include the elimination of presumptive eligibility for the shelter system and the limitation of stays to six months. 

“We inherited an Emergency Shelter System that was on an unsustainable path,” said Governor Healey. “We’ve taken decisive action to reduce the number of families in shelter and lower the cost of the system – and we’re getting results. Caseload is now down by 33 percent from its peak, and we have already reduced the use of costly hotels by more than half.”

“We all benefit from helping families experiencing homelessness get back on their feet. That’s why we’ve prioritized helping people get work authorizations, jobs and permanent housing,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “As a result, we’re seeing record numbers of families leaving shelter for better situations in which they can contribute to our economy and our communities.”

The family shelter system provides emergency shelter and rehousing to families with children and pregnant women living in Massachusetts. More than half of the families in shelter are long-time Massachusetts residents. Since the start of 2025, double the number of families have exited shelter (approximately 2,100) than have entered shelter (approximately 1,000). 

Caseload is expected to drop further as exits continue to outpace placements, hotel shelters are closed by the end of the year, and families are provided with appropriate support through the new two-track needs-based shelter model implemented by the Healey-Driscoll Administration.

Supplemental Budget Implementation

Effective last Friday, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) is implementing changes to eligibility and length of stay for the EA program as required by the supplemental budget approved in February and in line with the administration’s goal to build a program that better serves homeless families and remains fiscally and operationally sustainable.

All families are now required to be fully eligible for EA prior to being added to the contact list and placed into shelter, absent an exception. This means all documentation and verification must be completed and CORI results returned with no serious crimes. Families must now provide proof of residency in Massachusetts and intent to remain in the state, must prove all family members have lawful immigration status, and families cannot have income exceeding 200 percent of the federal poverty level for more than four months in shelter.

Families are also subject to a six-month length of stay policy in Bridge shelters with the option to request a hardship waiver if they meet the criteria outlined in the supplemental budget and guidance. All families will receive a six-month exit notice upon entry into a Bridge shelter and those notices will be provided to families currently in in Bridge shelters now.

EOHLC is also making updates to Bridge Universal Shelter Rules to incorporate recommendations from The Edward Davis Company to ensure safety and security of all families.

More information can be found within the regulations, Length of Stay guidance, prioritization and contact list guidance, and a FAQ posted to the EOHLC website.

Incident Command

Due to the successful implementation of Governor Healey’s reforms, the state has entered the next phase of operations where the EA system no longer requires an Incident Command structure to coordinate intergovernmental response.

The Incident Command structure was established in May 2023 by the Governor to lead and coordinate a cross-cabinet emergency response to address the increasing demand for shelter. As of April 1, the shelter system is staffed and run fully within EOHLC.

“Over the past two years, the EA system has stabilized more than 10,000 homeless families,” said Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus. “We are grateful for the support of the Incident Command team and our interagency partners who assisted during this emergency response, and our work continues to build a program that better serves homeless families and remains fiscally and operationally sustainable.”

By the numbers

As of Tuesday, there were 4,966 families in the state’s Bridge Shelter track, which is down from its peak of 7,500 families. An additional 202 families are in the Rapid Shelter track.

With the recent approval of supplemental funding for the shelter system, the Legislature and the administration have aligned on a long-term strategy to return the system to operationally and fiscally sustainable levels. This strategy builds on many of this team’s accomplishments since 2023, including.

• Helping more than 6,500 people secure work authorizations.
• Helping nearly 5,000 shelter residents find jobs.
• Tripling monthly exits from the system over the last year, from 213 exits in January 2024 to 717 exits in January 2025.
• Tripling monthly shelter diversions over the last year, from 37 diversions in January 2024 to 110 diversions in January 2025.
• The number of hotels used for emergency shelter is down by 56 percent since 2023, with 10 more expected to close by the end of the month.
• Returning caseload to 2023 levels while serving more families more effectively based on their needs.