Catholic Charities Boston opens temporary shelter to house families on state waitlist

Catholic Charities Boston opened a temporary site on Tuesday to house migrant and homeless families on the state’s overburdened housing waitlist. 

The safety net site, which opened Tuesday evening at an undisclosed location in the Boston area, can accommodate up to 27 families or about 81 people, according to a statement from the charity. The temporary shelter is being funded by a grant, the first one be awarded from the $5 million SafetyNet Shelter Grant Program announced by Gov. Maura Healey’s Administration earlier this month in partnership with United Way of Massachusetts Bay in an effort to address the ongoing housing crisis in the state. 

According to Catholic Charities Boston, it will provide bedding, meals, staff, and security at the site and families who will be brought to the location are those who were eligible for the state’s Emergency Assistance family shelter program but could not get placement due to the ongoing inundation of the system.

“It is heartbreaking to see families living with uncertainty of where they will sleep at night – with the arrival of colder weather we are grateful for the Governor and her administration’s leadership and our partners at United Way in activating funds quickly to stand up this emergency shelter plan,” Kelley Tuthill, President of Catholic Charities Boston said in a statement. “We are also very grateful to our staff who are working diligently to support the many people in need of care and comfort during these difficult times.”

A surge of migrants and the state’s existing housing crisis resulted in the shelter system being overwhelmed with unhoused families in need. Gov. Maura Healey and her administration imposed a cap of 7,500 families, saying the system could not safely accommodate more, which was met earlier this month, resulting in families being added to a waitlist. 

As of Tuesday, 7,457 families were enrolled in the shelter system, according to state data. Governor Maura Healey said Tuesday that officials are seeing a decrease in the amount of new arrivals seeking emergency shelter, but the state has been exploring options to create more space for the families in need, including setting up shelter beds in the state transportation building in Boston and through the partnership with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay.