On December 22, 2023, Massachusetts opened a new Safety Net Family Shelter in East Cambridge that can house nearly 200 individuals. The site is intended as an in-between space for families in need of housing before being placed in a traditional shelter, such as a shared living space with other families or a hotel. “It’s like a waiting room for traditional shelter,” Phoebe West, Project Coordinator for the Cambridge Office of the Housing Liaison, told the Register Forum.
Initially, the shelter was expected to house only around 20 families on the day it was opened, but in the weeks that followed it reached its capacity of close to 70.
One difference between this site and a traditional shelter is that it hosts families only for the evening and overnight. However, no one is ever forced to leave the shelter system. West states, “You’re only going to leave when you have a circumstance that you can be out on your own.”
The site is located in a portion of the Middlesex South Registry Of Deeds that was unused since the pandemic. However, the other section of the building remains operational. While the state also provides shelters to individuals, this site is intended only for families eligible under Massachusetts’ right-to-shelter law. The city of Cambridge noted that while many of those who seek shelter are migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees, the shelter is also intended for those who are victims of a no-fault eviction, fleeing domestic violence, a natural disaster, or if your children are exposed to any other kind of safety risk. West explained that the state also helps with the transition from the shelter to living independently, such as making sure families are taking advantage of benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or getting work authorization.
Since 1983, Massachusetts has had a right-to-shelter law for families. So far, it is the only state to do so. However, in November of 2023, the state reached its limit of 7,500 families. The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill that created a $2.7 billion spending plan, $250 million of which was allocated to the emergency shelter systems, but with specific requirements on how it would be spent, including for the Healey administration to open an additional shelter by the end of 2023; $50 million of the funds would be spent specifically on the overflow shelters. During this time many families were on waitlists to receive traditional shelter, and the state needed a place in which to house them to meet the requirements set by the legislature. Since the Registry of Deeds was owned by the state and a large section of it had not been used since the pandemic, it was chosen as one of the safety net sites.
“This kind of emergency family resource is urgently needed in Cambridge, and I’m glad to see the state stepping up to provide shelter for families in crisis,” Rev. Kate Layzer, the Minister of Street Outreach at the Friday Café, told the RF. “I think of this as a long-term investment in our community,” she said, “Children and families who get adequate support today are much less likely to need services like the Friday Café 20 years from now.”
West told the RF how she and her team aimed to support unhoused individuals across the city; Cambridge was eager to partner with the state to aid the community. “Cambridge is a welcoming city, we really try to hold on to that,” she said, “Our role has really been to support the state.”
