March 8, 2023

Greetings!

Please help us give a warm welcome to the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless' new Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate, Julia Garvey! Julia is just completing her first week at the Coalition, and we are thrilled to have her onboard!

Welcoming Julia

Get to know Julia by reading her bio below and by reaching out to her directly: julia.garvey@mahomeless.org and 781-595-7570 x36. Julia also will be co-facilitating our next Housing and Benefits Committee meeting, coming up on Friday, March 31st, so RSVP and plan to join us then.

Taking Action to Extend Eviction Protections

Governor Healey filed a supplemental budget request, House Bill 47, for the current fiscal year, FY23, on January 30th. Last week, the House took up her request, and sent a modified version to the Senate for their consideration, House Bill 58. Tomorrow, the full Senate is set to debate their version of the supplemental budget, now Amendment S.23.

As part of the Senate debate, Senators will have the opportunity to extend eviction protections. Please reach out to your State Senator *today* to ask them to cosponsor Senator Jehlen's eviction protection amendment, Amendment #12, to the pending supplemental budget.

Currently, many tenants in Massachusetts facing an eviction can get a continuance from the court if they show that they have a pending application for benefits under the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program or another short-term emergency rental assistance program. In addition, the court cannot issue a judgment or an eviction execution before the application is approved or denied.

Without action, this important eviction prevention tool provided under a law known as Chapter 257 is set to expire on March 31st. Senator Jehlen's amendment seeks to extend the protections until July 31, 2024.

The Senate is scheduled to debate the supplemental budget tomorrow.

Please call your Senator today to ask them to cosponsor and actively support Amendment #12. You can reach your Senator via the State House switchboard: 617-722-2000. Not sure who your Senator is? Look them up via www.wheredoivotema.com.

Please also sign and share this quick online action to your Senator in support of the amendment from our colleagues at Lynn United for Change: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/dont-let-eviction-protections-expire

Proposed Funding and Language to Serve Families Experiencing Homelessness and Newly Arrived Immigrants and Refugees

We also would like to highlight a few items that the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM) already has included in their version of the supplemental budget, S.23. SWM included:

  • $44,938,224 for the Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter and services program, matching the amount included last week by the House in their version of the supplemental budget, House Bill 58, and in Governor Healey's request, House Bill 47. See line item 7004-0101.
  • $40,061,776 for a reserve fund to meet the needs of families and individuals experiencing homelessness, with a focus on reimbursing school districts for additional costs incurred to meet the educational needs of students experiencing homelessness. See line item 1599-0924. The final House version of the supplemental budget included $41,061,776 for this line item. The level recommended by SWM matches the Governor's request.
  • $7,000,000 in a new line item that was proposed by MCH, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition for a reserve account under the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to provide key services and resources to newly arrived immigrant and refugee families and individuals and to kick-off a planning process to ensure better coordination among state agencies and community-based organizations serving new arrivals. See below for the full text of the line item, 1599-0925.
  • $130,000,000 to create a reserve account to provide emergency allotments to households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/food stamps), matching the amount included last week by the House in their version of the supplemental budget and in Governor Healey's request. See line item 1599-3068.

Thank You for Being Part of Legislative Action Day

Finally, special thanks to everyone who was part of last week's Legislative Action Day! It was wonderful to see so many of you on Zoom. We are grateful for your participation and for your follow-up meetings with legislators and their staff. We will be sending out a separate email with links to the Legislative Action Day video and follow-up materials.

Thank you for your partnership and interest. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or feedback.

With gratitude,
Kelly

Kelly Turley
Associate Director
She/her/hers

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.)
Welcoming Julia Garvey, the Coalition's New Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate

We are excited to introduce you to Julia Garvey, who launched her career with the Coalition on March 1st as the new Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate.

In 2019, Julia's experience as a Volunteer for Justice in the Western Housing Court in her home city of Springfield sparked her passion for advocating for housing as a human right. After graduating with her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Western New England University, she went on to pursue a Master of Urban Affairs at Boston University, focusing on housing issues and policies throughout her studies.

While completing her degree, Julia, a low-income, first-generation graduate, served as an AmeriCorps member with College Advising Corps for 2 years in Boston Public Schools, advocating for and supporting over 200 low-income, first generation, and historically excluded youth with the college and career process.

After graduating with her master's degree and completing her service with AmeriCorps, she worked in nonprofit management, but soon realized she was most fulfilled using community engagement, advocacy, and policymaking to empower and amplify the voices of people who have been marginalized. 

Julia is excited to join Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless as the Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate and to use her passion for housing stability and reform, and advocacy skills to further MCH's mission of ensuring that everyone in the Commonwealth has a place to call home.

Welcome, Julia!
Proposed Line Item to Serve Newly Arrived Immigrants and Refugees, as Appearing in the Senate Version of the Current 2023 Supplemental Budget

1599-0925: For a reserve to address the needs of newly-arrived immigrants and refugees to be administered by the executive office of health and human services, in coordination with the office for refugees and immigrants and the department of housing and community development; provided, that funds shall be expended to support refugee resettlement agencies, nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, family resource centers and local partners supporting immigrants and refugees through case management, legal screenings, benefits assistance, employment services programming and other non-housing-related supports for newly-arrived immigrants and refugees; provided further, that funds may be used for both direct assistance and administrative costs; provided further, that funds shall be made available to the executive office of health and human services for the development, in coordination with the office for refugees and immigrants and the department of housing and community development, of a new arrivals coordination plan to establish a more coordinated system to address the needs of newly-arrived immigrants and refugees including, but not limited to: (i) timely triage; (ii) social workers; (iii) medical screenings; (iv) culturally-appropriate food; (v) legal screenings and referrals; and (vi) assistance with screening and enrollment for benefits through MassHealth, the department of transitional assistance, the emergency housing assistance program under section 30 of chapter 23B of the General Laws and other state programs; provided further, that the plan shall address regional equity to ensure timely intake processes for newly-arrived immigrants and refugees; provided further, that in developing the plan, the executive office shall collaborate with and seek input from refugee resettlement agencies, nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations and local partners; provided further, that the plan shall be developed and submitted to the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than June 30, 2023; and provided further, that the executive office of health and human services shall submit monthly reports to the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing the identified number of newly-arrived immigrants and refugees entering the commonwealth until the exhaustion of funds in this item.........$7,000,000