Building for All: Introductory Letter

Dear Reader,

For decades, Massachusetts has led the nation in its commitment to providing safe, stable, affordable homes for residents of all incomes, and especially those with the greatest needs. Today, the Commonwealth faces strong headwinds which require us to renew that commitment and strengthen our resolve to make it a reality. As economic and demographic trends result in more residents needing the strong safety net Massachusetts has long been proud to provide, shifting federal policy priorities have reduced or withdrawn entirely the very supports that have made it possible for those with extremely low incomes to stay stably housed, and meet other critical needs. 

The Healey-Driscoll Administration is responding to these changes forcefully to defend access to the federal resources on which residents rely, and which our residents’ tax contributions to the federal government have long supported. However, even as we deploy all tools within our legal power to resist and reverse these changes, we must recognize the severe impact these changes will have while they remain in effect. The recommendations of this report, developed by stakeholders serving residents with extremely low incomes, would be difficult to achieve in any circumstances given the scale of the challenge. 

However, as the federal government continues to neglect the needs of residents with extremely low incomes, we must redouble our efforts to fight for the federal resources those residents need, to provide as strong a safety net as we can in the absence of those resources, and to strengthen that safety net, building a better Commonwealth for these, and all residents. 

We are grateful to undertake these efforts with such strong and committed partners, and we thank them for their work to develop these recommendations, and partner with us both to protect the resources we currently provide, and to achieve the aspirations laid out in the report that follows. We are likewise grateful for the work of the Special Commissions on Accessible Housing and Senior Housing, which have developed parallel reports addressing many similar issues given the high degree of overlap between the populations on which each Commission focused. We encourage you to review the reports of those Commissions as well.