Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll will hold a news conference Monday morning to provide an update on the state’s emergency family shelter system.
The conference is scheduled to be held at the Massachusetts State House at 11 a.m., according to Healey’s office.
Her news conference comes after Healey declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts over a large influx of migrants entering the state. At the time of the declaration in September, Healey said the shelter system was already nearing 20,000 people.
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Massachusetts is the only state in the country with a “right-to-shelter” law, which guarantees emergency shelter to families in need.
“We remain unwavering to being a state and people of compassion, safety, opportunity and respect but the increased level of demand is not slowing down,” Healey said. “Due to both a longstanding shortage of affordable housing as well as delays and barriers of federal work, we find ourselves in this situation.”
In mid-September, members of the Massachusetts National Guard were deployed to locations around the state that were serving as shelter sites — assisting with food services, medical care and education enrollment.
The federal government has also stepped in -- the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave the state and the city of Boston a $1.9 million grant to support shelter services and transportation.
The Biden administration also sent a Homeland Security team to Boston on Tuesday to assess the state of emergency shelters and identify potential solutions.
