Governor Healey Activates National Guard to Provide Services at Emergency Shelter Sites
Guard
members to coordinate food, transportation, medical care, and other
basic needs
Administration
also launches Regional Rapid Response Teams to oversee shelter sites
BOSTON – Governor Maura T. Healey today
issued an order activating up to 250 National Guard members
to provide basic services at emergency shelter hotels that
do not currently have a contracted service provider. The administration is
also launching Regional Rapid Response Teams to assist with
overseeing shelter sites and serving as a direct contact to the administration
to address any concerns.
Earlier this month, the Governor
issued a state of emergency over rapidly rising numbers of migrant families
arriving in Massachusetts, requiring the state’s emergency shelter system to
expand in an unsustainable manner. There are currently more than 6,000
families, including children and pregnant women, in emergency shelters
across the state.
“Massachusetts is in a state of
emergency, and we need all hands-on deck to meet this moment and
ensure families have access to safe shelter and basic services,” said Governor Healey. “We’re grateful to the brave
men and women of the National Guard for stepping up to help us ensure that
every family in emergency shelter has their needs met,
including access to food, transportation, medical care, and
education. While we work to implement a more permanent staffing solution,
the National Guard will provide an efficient and effective means of delivering
these services and keeping everybody safe.”
“This National Guard activation
is a necessary step to ensure that families in emergency shelter have
access to the services they need to stay safe and healthy,” said Lieutenant Governor Driscoll. “This is an emergency measure
that will help us meet immediate needs while we continue to advocate for
assistance from the federal government in the form of streamlined work
authorizations and funding.”
“We are committed to being Always
Ready and Always There for the residents of Massachusetts,” said Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe, The
Adjutant General, Massachusetts National Guard. “Our role in the response to
the ongoing housing crisis will expand to leverage our multitude of robust and
adaptable capabilities in emergency and domestic operations to help those in
need.”
As the administration has continued
to add new shelter sites to meet demand, service providers have been stretched
thin. This action by Governor Healey will help ensure that
families placed in hotels have access to basic
services. Beginning next week, each National Guard member will
be assigned to a specific hotel shelter sites, where they will facilitate
the onsite coordination of services such as food, basic needs, transportation,
and medical care delivered by the site, external vendors, community
organizations, and state and local government. This will
include assisting local school districts with enrolling
The Guard will also be responsible
for escalating issues to newly created Regional Rapid Response Teams.
The teams will be staffed by state employees and tasked with overseeing sites
in a given geographic region to better coordinate services and serve as central
points of contact in the administration for any issues or concerns. The
Regional Response Teams will prepare sites for opening, communicate
site-specifics to inform placements, arrange connection to public benefits, and
support municipal and legislative partners.
In issuing her emergency declaration earlier this month, Governor Healey appealed to the federal government for assistance with streamlining work authorizations and funding. Last week, the Governor and her team met with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to discuss the support that Massachusetts needs to address the rapidly rising number of migrant families arriving in Massachusetts, including work authorizations. The administration and the City of Boston also recently received a $1.9 million grant from FEMA to support shelter services.
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