09HousingIssuesShelterRegs

Many of you contacted your State Legislators and the Department of Transitional Assistance to share concerns about the proposed family emergency shelter regulations. These changes, as originally drafted, would have placed undo hardship on vulnerable children and their families by denying more families access to emergency shelter.

With your help, State officials significantly revised to these regulations. The administration made the following changes:

To Learn more about the additional modifications, see March 27 Modifications.

Advocacy groups will continue to work with the Administration and Legislature to clarify language related to good cause exemptions from the work activity and the savings requirements and evictions from subsidized housing before the scheduled implementation of the new regulations on April 17, 2009. Again, thank you! Your phone calls and emails made a difference.

If possible, take a moment to thank the Department of Transitional Assistance and your elected officials for taking action.

Email Commissioner Julia Kehoe (DTA.PolicyUnit@massmail.state.ma.us) to thank the Department of Transitional Assistance for listening to the feedback from families, legislators, providers, advocates, and community members.
Call your State Representative and State Senator to thank them if they have weighed in to help stop these changes. Check to see if your legislator signed on to one of the following letters, February 26, 2009 and March 13, 2009.
Your legislators can be reached by calling the State House Switchboard at 617-722-2000. You also can find out who your legislators are by going to www.wheredoivotema.com.

If you have any additional questions or concerns and to report back on your advocacy efforts, please contact the MCC at 617-367-6060 or staff@macathconf.org.

Thank you for your support!

You Made A Difference!