Published in the February 24, 2017 edition

On Monday, the Mass. Coaltion for the Homeless and Worcester state Rep. Jim O’Day will host a legislative action event at the State House designed to draw attention to homelessness and what bills are currently before lawmakers that hopefully will one day ease the plight of the homeless.

The day will focus on advocating for key budget and legislative requests, such as:

• Increasing funding for the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program (RAFT) to $18.5 million and maintaining the expanded eligibility criteria that allows both families with children as well as individuals and other family configurations to access the program.

• Allowing families to access Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter without having to first stay in a place not meant for human habitation.

• Passing the bill of rights for people experiencing homelessness.

• Eliminating the homelessness penalty in the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program (EAEDC) that leaves participants experiencing homelessness with a monthly grant of only $92.80/month

Homelessness is a big problem in the Bay State and across the U.S., and it comes in many forms.

As of June 2, 2015, there were approximately 4,300 families with children and pregnant women in Massachusetts’ Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter program. Of those families, 1,296 with children were being sheltered in motels. This number does not count those families who are doubled up, living in unsafe conditions, or sleeping in their cars. During 2014, 6,562 families were assisted with emergency shelter and/or HomeBASE household assistance, out of the 13,115 families who applied for assistance. For the first nine months of FY’15, 4,700 families (53%) were assisted with emergency shelter and/or HomeBASE household assistance, out of the 8,935 families who applied for assistance.

Across the United States, there are an estimated 1.6 million unaccompanied youth who are experiencing homelessness. Fall 2013 data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE), released in 2014, estimated that there were 4,085 students in Massachusetts public high schools who were experiencing homelessness and not in the custody of their parent or legal guardian. (Additional data: Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from ESE; 2015-2016 school year data from ESE on unaccompanied youth and other students experiencing homelessness directly identified by school districts.) Additional efforts are underway to get a more accurate count of the full extent of unaccompanied youth homelessness in the Commonwealth, notably through the work of the Massachusetts Commission on Unaccompanied Homeless Youth.

Since 2010, the Mass. Coalition for the Homeless has convened a Task Force on Unaccompanied Youth Homelessness and organized more broadly in the community to bring together providers, advocates, and youth to work together to improve and expand housing and services for unaccompanied youth.

Then there are unaccompanied adults who are homeless or on the brink because of illness, loss of a spouse or job or their income not keeping up with the cost of housing.

The problems are real and people need our help. It’s the least we can do to keep our human community whole.