According to the Globe The state government plans to eliminate a controversial emergency shelter program that places about 1,700 homeless families in motels and hotels paid by taxpayers, but housing advocates are worried officials will not be able to come up with better alternatives.
The money quote came from Chris Norris, executive director of the nonprofit Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership that administers the HomeBASE program in the Boston area, said he would like to eliminate the motel program. However, he worries that some people who have been helped may fall back into homelessness this year. Among them, he said 6,000 families who receive rental assistance are expecting to see the financial help expire within two years, starting this summer. If they don’t get more help, many will end up back at the state’s emergency shelters, he said.
“We should have a goal of having an adequate supply of permanent housing,” he said. “We can’t do something with nothing.”
And he’s right.