WORCESTER – Two Worcester City Councilors issued a joint statement on Monday critical of recent announcements by Governor Maura Healey limiting assistance to those in state-run emergency shelters.
The statement by Councilor-at-Large Thu Nguyen and District Five Councilor Etel Haxhiaj said, in part:
“It is extremely exhausting to witness the heartbreaking and cruel ways in which our government and officials treat our unhoused community members. Just a month ago, we saw the ruling of Johnson v. Grant Passing, allowing cities and towns to fine and criminalize unhoused folks who have nowhere else to go and are forced to sleep outside. This past week, Governor Healey announced more drastic caps on emergency shelters and welcoming centers limiting access to the most vulnerable families with children, further eroding the right to shelter.”
Last week, Healey announced cuts to assistance for those in temporary shelters beginning August 1. The policy prohibits those staying in four overflow shelter sites to stays of not over five days. The new policy also requires a wait of six months before individuals can qualify for placement in longer-term emergency assistance facilities.
On May 1, Healey signed a bill which effectively reversed the 40-year-old law that provides a “right to shelter” in Massachusetts. That change implemented a nine-month limit for individuals staying within the shelter system. The limit allows for two 90-day extensions.
Healey said the bill balanced the budget and m kept critical services and programs in place.
In April 2023, soon after taking office, Healey signed a $1 billion tax cut, which included reductions to the Estate Tax and Short Term Capital Gains tax. The package also included an expanded Child and Family Tax Credit, increases to the Rental Deduction, Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit, and Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP).
The reductions in the Estate Tax and taxes on Short Term Capital Gains are primarily paid for by those in the highest of income brackets. In November 2022, on the same ballot voters elected Healey to the governor’s office, voters approved a four percent tax on income over $1,000,000.
Homelessness in Worcester
A report presented to the Worcester City Council in June, authored by the Commissioner of Health and Human Services, Dr. Matilde Castiel, outlined a 5-year strategy to combat homelessness.
In that report, Castiel noted that according to data collected by the city, long-term homelessness decreased from 184 individuals in January 2022 to 163 in March 2024.
However, in March 2024, 593 non-chronically homeless individuals were served within the shelter system in Worcester. Those individuals served within the system stayed for a median length of three days. The report notes a range of situations caused those cases, including transient visitors, people experiencing temporary financial hardships, residents from nearby areas seeking brief support, and individuals navigating domestic challenges that momentarily prevent them from returning home.
The report also noted a count in January 2023 that noted 51 individuals living within encampments, but that number changes quickly and often.
Among people over the age of 65, homelessness surged over 29 percent from 2018 to 2022.
After the closing of the shelter location on Main Street, at the former RMV location, Worcester’s shelter capacity reduced from 205 beds to 125 on June 30.
