Some landlords have vacant apartments for homeless families. The paperwork required by the state is driving some away. (Boston Globe)
Below is an excerpt from an article published by the Boston Globe on September 3. The article discusses the backlog and red tape associated with a critical program in Massachusetts used to find long-term housing for homeless families. Greater Boston Legal Services’ Adam Hoole is quoted in the article.
A key program Massachusetts uses to find long-term housing for homeless families is so backed up and laden with red tape that some applicants are missing out on vacant apartments because landlords have gotten fed up with waiting and dropped out, several advocates told the Globe.
The state program, called HomeBASE, pairs homeless families with landlords who have vacant units and then subsidizes rent and other expenses for up to three years. State officials consider it a crucial pressure release valve for the overburdened shelter system, which is straining to accommodate thousands of families as new migrant families continue to arrive.
HomeBASE, however, was not built to accommodate the level of need that exists in Massachusetts, fueled in large part by the migrant crisis. Created in 2011, HomeBASE was designed to help homeless families transition out of emergency shelter and provide housing to those at imminent risk of eviction.
Now, with such a staggering influx of families seeking a place to live, the bureaucracy simply can’t keep up. Landlords and advocates describe having to navigate a labyrinth of paperwork, with applications sometimes taking months to get processed. It’s resulted in lost units as frustrated landlords decide that waiting for the paperwork to clear is not worth the forgone income, advocates say, though the exact number is uncertain.
Read more at the Boston Globe.
