May 19, 2022

Greetings!

Thank you to everyone who has made calls and sent emails to State Senators in support of key amendments to the FY23 state budget. If you haven't had a chance yet to participate in this advocacy effort, it is not too late.

This week, Senators are reviewing the 1,178 amendments filed before last Friday's amendment filing deadline, and Senators are deciding which amendments to cosponsor and actively support publicly and behind the scenes. The full Senate is scheduled to begin debating the FY23 budget on Tuesday, May 24th, so we have a few more days to secure more Senate cosponsors and as much support as possible for key amendments related to housing stability, homelessness prevention, shelter access, and cash assistance.

Please ask your State Senator to cosponsor and actively support these key amendments:
 
  • Amendment #253, "Expanding Access to RAFT" from Senator John Keenan. This amendment would increase access to the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program to all otherwise eligible households with incomes up to 60% of the area median income (AMI) instead of the general cap of 50% AMI; affirmatively ensure upstream access to RAFT benefits; and direct the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to authorize 4 months of forward rent payments and stipends to otherwise eligible applicants.

  • Amendment #297, "Expanding RAFT Eligibility to ERAP Levels" from Senator John Keenan. With the winding down of the federally funded Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) in Massachusetts as the program runs out of funds, this amendment would create a $10 million pilot program within RAFT to serve households with incomes up to 80% of the area median income, provide up to 12 months of rental assistance, and require DHCD and the RAFT administering agencies to make direct payments to tenants in cases where the property owner is not responsive. We hope that additional funds will be added to ERAP diirectly or to this pilot program from FY22 surplus funds, American Rescue Plan Act funds, and other resources.


  • Also see the organizational sign-on letter delivered on Monday to the Legislature, the Governor, and DHCD: https://tinyurl.com/erap-raft5-16-22. Thank you again to all of the organizations that participated!

  • Amendment #464, "Improvements to Emergency Assistance for Children and Families" from Senator Adam Gomez. This amendment would increase the income eligibility limits for EA to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines (FPG) for families upon application and 285% FPG for families already in EA shelter; restore the FY22 language to establish an ombudsperson unit; improve tracking and reporting language and ensure that data reports are posted publicly in a timely manner.

  • Amendment #475, "Housing and Supportive Services for Unaccompanied Youth" from Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz. This amendment would add $1.5 million to the unaccompanied youth homelessness line item to increase the proposed funding to $10 million for FY23. The additional funds would be used to bring housing and wraparound support services closer to scale for youth and young adults under the age of 25 who are experiencing homelessness out on their own without a parent or guardian. The funds would be distributed through the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to the 10 regional lead agencies that serve youth and young adults across the entire Commonwealth.

  • Amendment #206, "Improvements to HomeBASE" from Senator Pat Jehlen. This amendment would increase the value of HomeBASE subsidies to $30,000 over 2 years, with the possibility of renewals at $15,000/year and lift the income eligibility limits for families once they are enrolled in HomeBASE to allow families to maximize their incomes.

  • Amendment #503, "Lift Kids Out of Deep Poverty" from Senator Sal DiDomenico, which would increase monthly cash assistance grants for the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC) and Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) programs 10% over current levels starting in July 2022, instead of April 2023 as proposed by SWM. The amendment also would add additional funds to the EAEDC and TAFDC line items to offset the cost of the grant increases: $13.5 million for EAEDC and $25.8 million for TAFDC.

  • Amendment #465, “Public Posting of Report Regarding Field Offices for Children and Families Applying for Emergency Assistance Shelter" from Senator Adam Gomez. This amendment would amend the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) administrative line item, 7004-0099. SWM language already would require DHCD to produce a report to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means on the Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter program with details on staffing, access to the ten local DHCD offices where families can apply for EA shelter (which has been severely limited since the start of the pandemic), and the ways families can apply remotely. This amendment would increase transparency by requiring DHCD to publicly post a copy of that report on their website at the same time the report is shared with Ways and Means.

  • Amendment #343, "Access to Emergency Shelter" from Senator Jamie Eldridge. This amendment would prohibit the Department of Housing and Community Development from imposing an asset limit for Emergency Assistance shelter eligibility. Historically, DHCD has followed the asset limit regulations for the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (TAFDC). The Legislature eliminated the TAFDC asset limit in the FY22 budget, but DHCD continues to impose a $5,000 cap on assets for families applying for or participating in the EA program. In the first quarter of this fiscal year, 2% of the families denied access to shelter were denied due to being over the asset limit. See page 2 of this report from DHCD.
 
Column D of our FY23 budget chart includes additional important amendments and more details: https://tinyurl.com/mchfy23


Take Action with Us!

** Please reach out to your State Senator to ask for their strong and active support for the key FY23 budget amendments listed above.

You can find out who your Senator is and how to contact them by going to www.wheredoivotema.com or calling the State House switchboard at 617-722-2000.


Thanks again for your collaboration and your work to prevent and end homelessness!

In solidarity,
Kelly and Luke

Kelly Turley
Associate Director

Luke Benson
Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate

P.S. Stay up to date with the Coalition’s advocacy initiatives by following us on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. (Links also included at the top of this message.)
Recap of Key Recommendations Included in the Senate Ways and Means FY23 Budget Proposal

Last Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM) released Senate Bill 4, a $49.68 billion proposal for the fiscal year that will launch on July 1st, SWM recommended important increased investments in programs such as:

  • Residential Assistance for Families in Transition homelessness prevention program (RAFT), line item 7004-9316: $150 million in direct appropriations, with an estimated $60 million in additional funds to be carried over from FY22

  • Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), line item 7004-9024: $154.3 million in direct appropriations with language to carry over unspent funds from FY22; total anticipated funding as proposed by SWM = $175 million

  • Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter program for families with children, line item 7004-0101: $213.2 million

  • HomeBASE rehousing program for families with children, line item 7004-0108: $56.9 million

  • Housing and services for unaccompanied youth, line item 4000-0007: $8.5 million

  • Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program (EAEDC), line item 4408-1000: $140.6 million

  • Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP), line item 7004-9030: $13.7 million in direct appropriations, plus language to carry over unspent funds from FY22; total anticipated funding as proposed by SWM = $19.3 million

See the full list of line items we are tracking here.

Help us build upon these important proposed investments through the amendment process by contacting your Senator today in support of the amendments listed above!
Please click the image below to sign and share our emergency rental assistance online action.