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| JBCC提供的臨時居所。 |
麻州奚莉-Driscoll政府還將在尋找額外選向之際，把「鱈魚角共同基地 (Joint Base Cape Cod)」挪作臨時庇護所，以因應日漸增加的需要。截至6月23日，JBCC可以接收16個家庭入住聯排屋
(townhouse)。這數目可以擴大到60個家庭。「家庭歡迎中心」將為入住家庭安排到鱈魚角共同基地的交通工具。
麻州政府刻正努力在其他地方設立更多家庭歡迎中心。
奧斯頓家庭歡迎中心位於巴西工人中心所在的哈佛道14號 (14 Harvard Ave., Allston) ，將做為轉介家庭到JBCC的主要機制，設有專職人員來評估家庭是否符合入住JBCC資格，並協調交通事宜。
家庭歡迎中心的營運時間為週一至週五下午4:00至晚上8:00，週六和週日的中午12:00至晚上7:00，以為家庭有效率的聯繫上臨時和長期住所。除了為JBCC庇護所辦理收容服務外，家庭歡迎中心還將提供食品、嬰兒奶粉和尿布等基本必需品。在未來幾週內，家庭歡迎中心的服務將擴展到包括連接醫療服務和協助申請過渡援助部門計劃、麻州醫療健保(MassHealth)、奶粉券(WIC)，以及其他支援。
麻州緊急服務局 (MEMA)正和麻州國家衛隊合作，可安排最多60戶的聯排屋形式住宅，以及共用的綠化娛樂空間。
為了臨時家庭庇護所的開張，麻州州長奚莉 (Maura Healey)
將啟動多達50名麻州國家警衛人員，支援JBCC的人道主義運作順利。他們將支援州及地方當局，以及基地的營運，以確保安全。
Healey-Driscoll政府最近佈署了一個事件指揮結構，以領導、協調包括州長辦公室、行政和財務、衛生和人類服務、住房和可居住社區、公共安全和安全、勞動和勞動力發展、教育等部門，來滿足尋求庇護的家庭的需求。
奚莉州長最近還在難民及移民辦公室指派了一個新的領導團隊，來率領各項活動，以確保麻州的難民及移民都獲得完整，有熱情，並且文化合宜的服務及支援。
任命了一個新的領導團隊，負責帶領工作，確保麻州的難民和移民得到全面、富有同情心和具有文化適宜性的服務和支援。
今年3月，奚莉州長簽署了一項補充預算法案，撥出8500萬美元給緊急援助計劃，以滿足越來越多的家庭、移民和難民面臨無家可歸狀況的需求。奚莉州長的2024會計年度預算建議為EA計劃提供3.24億美元的預算，這比FY23預算增加了48%。她還建議為難民和移民辦公室提供超過200萬美元的預算，比FY23增加了約280,000美元或16%。此外，麻州政府最近還撥款175萬美元，成立移民援助服務（IAS）這新的個案管理項目，以幫助新抵麻州移民得到解決立即需要的服務，獲得穩定生活。
Healey-Driscoll
Administration Announces Expansion of Services and Shelter for Families
Experiencing Homelessness
Family
Welcome Center in Allston will serve as a central entry
point to connect families with basic necessities,
services, and shelter at Joint Base Cape Cod
BOSTON – The Healey-Driscoll
Administration today announced an expansion of services and shelter sites for
families experiencing homelessness. On Friday, June 23, the
administration is opening a “Family Welcome Center” in Allston to
serve as a central entry point for families, especially
immigrant families, struggling to access basic
necessities, connecting them with essential supplies,
services, and transportation to a safe place to stay.
Additionally, the administration
will be utilizing Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) as
a temporary shelter site to meet rising need while the
state pursues additional options. As of June 23, JBCC will be able to
receive 16 families to stay in the townhouses at the base
and could expand to support up to 60 families. Families will be provided
with transportation to JBCC from the Family Welcome Center. The
administration is working to open additional Family Welcome Centers in other
areas across the state in the near future.
“In Massachusetts, we are
committed to ensuring that families have access to safe and secure shelter.
Over the past year, we’ve seen a steady rise in shelter demand due to the
rising cost of housing, more families arriving in
our nation and our state from other countries, and delayed
federal work authorizations. Our administration has been working hard to
meet this unprecedented need and use every resource at our disposal to help
families,” said Governor
Healey. “That’s
why we are establishing a Family Welcome Center to serve as a central
entry point to connect families, particularly newly-arrived
families, with the support they need, as well as turning to Joint Base
Cape Cod as a temporary, emergency shelter option. We will continue working
across our administration and with local and federal partners on long-term
solutions to this crisis.”
“The Family Welcome Center will
offer a centralized location with dedicated staff members to more efficiently
connect families with resources and support,” said Lieutenant Governor Driscoll. “Additionally, the townhouses
at Joint Base Cape Cod provide a comfortable and private location for
families to be in community, enjoy outdoor space, and access service providers,
resources and amenities to meet their immediate needs. This is a temporary
solution, but we are grateful to the Massachusetts National Guard and the
service providers who are working hard to ensure we provide families with safe
places to stay.”
The Family Welcome Center is
located at the Brazilian Worker Center at 14 Harvard Ave,
Allston and will serve as the primary referral mechanism for families
to travel to JBCC. There will be dedicated staff members at the
Family Welcome Center charged with assessing families and determining
their eligibility for housing at JBCC, and then coordinate transportation to
JBCC.
The Welcome Center
will operate from 4:00 pm to
8:00 pm Monday–Friday, and noon to 7:00 pm on
Saturday and Sunday, to
facilitate efficient connection of families to temporary
and longer-term shelter as appropriate. In addition to
shelter intake services for JBCC, the Family Welcome Center will
provide basic necessities including food, baby formula,
and diapers. In the coming weeks, Family Welcome Center offerings
will expand to include connection to health services, and assistance with enrollment
in Department of Transitional Assistance programs,
MassHealth, WIC and other supports.
As part of the ongoing
collaborative effort to mobilize a temporary emergency shelter at Joint Base
Cape Cod, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is coordinating
with the Massachusetts National Guard to accommodate up to 60 units of
housing. The units are townhouse-style,
furnished accommodations with shared green space for recreation.
In addition, MEMA is contracting
with a vendor to support shelter operations and provide services, including
shelter program staffing, janitorial, linens, laundry, and medical
services. MEMA will coordinate a regular
shuttle to provide transportation off base to designated pick up and
drop off points to ensure that families are able to access local community
resources.
With the opening of the temporary
family shelter, Governor Healey will activate up to 50 Massachusetts National
Guard personnel to support the success of the humanitarian operation at JBCC.
These individuals will be available to assist state and local
authorities, support base operations and ensure the security of
the base complex.
“The Family Welcome Center model
is a more streamlined entry point for families who arrive in the Commonwealth
to access shelter, food, and other basic necessities,” said Health and Human Services
Secretary Kate Walsh.
“In the coming months, Family Welcome Centers will offer a wider range of
resources including connection to legal services and community organizations.
With extended hours and multiple locations across the state to open in the
coming weeks, Family Welcome Centers will help ease the strain on our
hospitals, resettlement agencies, and other organizations that have served as
informal entry points to the system.”
“JBCC is a
MEMA-designated emergency shelter, and its existing
infrastructure provides a temporary accommodation that
is well-equipped to meet the safety, security, and
privacy needs of families,” said Public
Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy. “I commend our state
and local partners for their coordination, resourcefulness,
and tireless commitment to serving those in their time
of greatest need. The growing demand for humanitarian
support has been met with a collaborative spirit and
ingenuity reflective of our Commonwealth’s best values.”
“It
is clear that our housing crisis is pushing our most vulnerable families into
precarious housing situations and increasing demand for emergency
shelter. We have engaged in a cross-cabinet effort to recognize
and address the needs of new arrivals and longtime residents who are
unable to find affordable, safe housing,” said
Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus.
“The new Family Welcome Center and additional shelter at Joint Base Cape Cod
will help us relieve pressure on our emergency family shelter system with an
inter-agency response to meet the needs of residents and families.”
The Healey-Driscoll Administration recently
implemented an Incident Command Structure to lead a coordinated approach
to addressing the needs of families seeking shelter – including the
Governor’s Office, Administration and Finance, Health and Human Services,
Housing and Livable Communities, Public Safety and Security, Labor and
Workforce Development, and Education. Governor Healey also recently appointed a
new leadership team at the Office for Refugees and Immigrants to spearhead
efforts to ensure that refugees and immigrants in Massachusetts are met with
comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally appropriate services and supports.
In March, Governor Healey signed
a supplemental budget into law that dedicated $85 million to the Emergency
Assistance program to meet the demand of a growing number of families,
immigrants and refugees facing homelessness. The Governor’s FY24 budget
proposal recommended a $324 million budget for the EA program, which
represents a 48% percent increase above the FY23 budget. She also recommended
more than $2 million for the Office of Refugees and Immigrants, roughly a
$280,000 or 16 percent increase from
FY23. The administration also recently awarded $1.75
million to form the Immigrant Assistance Services (IAS), a new case management
program designed to assist newly arrived immigrants in Massachusetts so they
can access services that address their immediate needs and help them achieve
stability.
