Please join us online this Friday, January 26th, for our next Housing and Benefits Committee meeting!

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January 24, 2024

Hello!

It's almost time for our January Housing and Benefits Committee meeting, coming up this Friday, January 26th, 10:00–11:30 a.m. on Zoom. Please RSVP and plan to join us!

Here is our agenda:

Welcome/Introductions

Governor Healey's 9C Budget Cuts & the Work of the Lift Our Kids Coalition – Naomi Meyer, Senior Welfare Law Attorney, Greater Boston Legal Services
Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) "provides free legal assistance and representation on civil (non-criminal) matters to hundreds of residents in the city of Boston and 31 surrounding cities and towns."
Lift Our Kids "is a Coalition of 160 Massachusetts organizations dedicated to improving cash assistance programs for the Commonwealth’s lowest income children and families."
On January 8th, Governor Healey announced midyear 9C budget cuts that include eliminating the 10% cash assistance grant increases that were scheduled to take effect on April 1st for participants in the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (TAFDC) and the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program (EAEDC). The Lift Our Kids Coalition fought hard for the inclusion of these grant increases in the FY24 budget.
In response, on January 11th, Coalition members held a rally at the State House and called on the Governor to rescind the cuts to cash assistance. For more information, click here.

Updates on Governor Healey's Housing Bond Bill/Affordable Homes Act – Presented by Andrea Park, Director of Community Driven Advocacy, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute & Julia Garvey, Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate, Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
Status of the Housing Bond Bill/Affordable Homes Act
On October 18, 2023, Governor Healey filed the Housing Bond Bill, also known as the Affordable Homes Act (H.4138). For summaries of what is included in the Governor's version bill, click here.
Today (January 18th) the Joint Committee on Housing is holding a public hearing on the Housing Bond Bill.
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) "provides statewide advocacy and leadership in advancing laws, policies, and practices that secure economic, racial, and social justice for low-income people and communities."
MLRI's policy recommendations for the Housing Bond Bill.
As part of our Housing Bond Bill advocacy, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless is asking the Legislature to provide $60 million to create bridge subsidies for up to 6,000 older adults, aged 60 years and older, facing housing instability to allow them to remain in place while they await approval for long-term subsidized housing.
For more information, you can find the fact sheet here.
If your organization is interested in endorsing the campaign, please fill out this form: http://tinyurl.com/bridgefy25hbb

Updates on the Emergency Assistance Family Shelter System – Presented by Kelly Turley, Associate Director, Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
There currently are over 500 families on the waiting list to access family shelter (542 families as of January 17th).
The Coalition partnered with Greater Boston Legal Services and Massachusetts Law Reform Institute to draft public comments on the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities' (EOHLC) new Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter emergency regulations and EA waiting list and prioritization procedures.
Since passage of the supplemental budget in December, the Healey Administration is required to submit biweekly EA reports to the Legislature. The three reports released so far can be found here.
Check out some of the related news coverage in this Google Folder.

Overview of Governor Healey's FY25 State Budget Recommendations – Presented by Kelly Turley, Associate Director, Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
Governor Healey is required to release her FY25 state budget recommendations on or before next Wednesday. Last night, she previewed some of the Administration's priorities in her 2024 State of the Commonwealth speech.

Announcements and Invitations
Save the date for the Coalition's 2024 Legislative Action Day: Thursday, March 7th, starting at 10 a.m. at the Massachusetts State House. Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/lad24info
Continuing the advocacy - please sign and share our one-minute email action for the Everyone Needs ID Bill (H.3388, H.3360, S.2251) to House Speaker Ron Mariano, House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, and your own State Representative. The action can be signed and shared here: https://mahomeless.org/mass-id-access-action-2023/
For more information on the campaign, access the fact sheet here.