Broad Coalition Calls for a Strong Safety Net for Homeless Children as “Housing First” Strategies Are Implemented - Click here for the letter

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Both the House and the Senate budgets for fiscal year 2012 endorse the Governor’s proposal to create a new program called “HomeBASE” to temporarily “house” rather than “shelter” as many homeless families as possible, and the final budget is expected to do the same.

But, in contrast to the Governor’s original proposal, the House and Senate budgets preserve access to emergency shelter for homeless families who cannot immediately be housed and who need a safe place for their children to sleep.

The Senate budget in particular – building on work done in the House – requires the Administration to provide shelter to eligible families who have no safe place to stay and who are not immediately housed through the new “HomeBASE” program.

Today, a coalition of more than 40 organizations from around the Commonwealth – including faith-based organizations, homeless service providers, community action programs, and advocacy organizations – are delivering a letter to Legislative leaders and the Conference Committee asking that the final budget include the Senate language, along with House language preventing additional eligibility restrictions before the new reforms have had a chance to work.

As stated in the letter, “We all support the goal of providing families experiencing homelessness with housing instead of shelter whenever safely possible and that goal is fully achievable through the Senate line items. But we must not eliminate a shelter safety net while we are experimenting with ways to reform these delivery systems. Protection of our children experiencing homelessness is simply too important. We must not leave them without a safety net in the name of ending family homelessness.”

 

About MLRI

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) is a non-profit legal services organization committed to promoting economic, racial and social justice for low-income people across Massachusetts through legal action, education and advocacy.

MLRI specializes in large-scale legal initiatives and systemic reforms that address the root causes of poverty, remove barriers to opportunity, promote economic stability and create a path to self-sufficiency for low-income individuals and families.  For over 40 years, MLRI has been the backbone of the Massachusetts civil legal aid system and is considered one of the premier legal services advocacy and support centers in the country.

Date Posted: 6/15/2011 4:02 pm