The City of Boston today unveiled a plan to cut family homelessness in half by 2012. This new initiative will involve saving homes from foreclosure, producing new affordable rental housing units, and purchasing foreclosed properties for use as affordable rental housing.
A Boston Globe story on the new proposal indicates that city officials were shocked into action when the recent homeless count in Boston revealed that the number of homeless children had jumped from 1,540 in 2006 to 2,288 at the end of 2008.
We are pleased that the City of Boston has recognized the need to help house vulnerable children and their families. However, we note that the city's count of homeless children is incomplete, as it follows HUD rules by not counting families living in dangerous "doubled up" or motel situations. These families need permanent housing, too - and they are unfortunately being left out of this new plan!
Based on this stunning increase in child homelessness, we renew our call for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to repeal new shelter rules for homeless families that would result in currently sheltered families with young children being forced onto the streets.