What is the goal of the Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter system?
Shelter is a temporary place for your family to stay as you search for your next place to live.
If you or your family are concerned about the possibility of becoming homeless, there are different paths you can take to regain stable housing. You may be eligible for EA Family Shelter if you have lost your home due to unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters, fleeing domestic violence, foreclosures, and other criteria.
What is expected from families in Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter?
While you stay in shelter there will be required tasks to help your family move toward finding and keeping stable housing. These tasks will include:
Upload Documentation
Hand in all remaining documents required in the Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter program within the first 30 days of being determined eligible for the program.
Do Re-Housing Activities
Family members 18 and over will work on steps in their Re-Housing Plan to become more stable. A Re-Housing plan is a plan you and your family create each month with shelter staff. It maps out your steps to stabilize your family and find housing. This may include looking for housing, job search, job training, improving your credit score, attending important appointments, and other activities that will help you find and keep stable housing.
Attend Meetings
Attend shelter meetings and workshops required in your Re-Housing Plan, as well as meet and work with shelter staff.
Accept Permanent Housing
Accept an offer of permanent housing unless you have good cause (a permitted reason).
Follow Shelter Program Rules
Shelter Program Rules are a set of rules you and your family must follow to remain in shelter. They are in place to make sure that shelters are safe and work for everyone. You will sign these rules when you enter shelter. Shelter rules include:
- Arriving by curfew
- Spending every night at the shelter unless permission is granted
- Providing appropriate care for children in the household
- No pets (except for service animals or other animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act)
- No alcohol or illegal drug
What are the types of shelters?
Congregate
Families have their own private place to sleep but share common spaces with other families in shelter.
Co-Shelter
Families are placed in apartments with other families. Families have private bedrooms and share common spaces.
Hotel
Families are placed in hotel rooms and may have access to other designated common spaces within the hotel.
Scattered Site
Families are placed in private living spaces/apartments separate from other families.
Open Congregate
Families are placed in shelters with open spaces with cots
Shelter is a shared experience among families. You will likely share common spaces with other sheltered families.
What are the two tracks of EA Shelter?
There are two tracks within EA Family Shelter, the Rapid Shelter Track and the Bridge Shelter Track. Your family’s experience within EA Family Shelter will look different based on which track you are in.
What is the Rapid Shelter Track?
The Rapid Shelter Track is for families who have strengths and needs that allow them to find self-sufficient permanent housing more quickly with high intensity support. In this track, a family can stay at a Temporary Respite Center (TRC) for 30 business days. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays will not count towards the 30-business day shelter time limit. A TRC is a shorter-term group shelter for families to stay while working with case managers to apply for help to find and move to stable, permanent housing quickly. Families will be connected to help with housing search, using stabilization services like HomeBASE, getting work authorization, and finding job placements and classes.
Learn more about the Rapid Shelter Track
What is the Bridge Shelter Track?
The Bridge Shelter Track is for families that have higher risks and more complex needs that take longer to resolve to find permanent housing. This includes families with a member who has an intellectual/developmental disability, a member who has a late-term pregnancy, risk of domestic violence, etc. In this track, a family can stay at a shelter for up to nine months. Families will work to find stable, permanent housing quickly. Families will be connected to help with getting work authorization, finding job placements and classes, and using stabilization services like HomeBASE.
How long can my family stay in shelter? (Length of Stay)
If your family is in the Rapid Shelter Track, your family can stay in a TRC for 30 business days. Business days are only weekdays (Monday – Friday), excluding Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays.
If your family is in the Bridge Shelter Track, your family can stay in shelter for 9 months. Please note that legislation (law) is being proposed to change the length of stay to 6 months .
Both tracks families can receive extensions under certain circumstance. Ask your Case Worker for more information on extensions.
What should families know when applying for Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter?
Bridge Shelter Track: This track is for families with more challenging needs who may require other types of support before finding permanent housing. The shelter stay limit is currently 9 months.
Case Worker: A person who works at the shelter who is there to assist you and your family in planning how to stabilize your living situation. You will regularly meet with the case worker to work on things like getting resources to help your family (for example, childcare vouchers) and finding housing. (Also referred to as Family Advocate or Case Manager).
Diversion Provider: An organization that supports EA eligible families to pay costs to travel to a safe place to stay inside or outside Massachusetts or to find housing instead of entering shelter. Diversion Providers mostly use the HomeBASE program to help families pay for travel costs or a portion of the rent.
EA Family Shelter Contact List: The state is not able to expand shelter capacity. The family shelter system may not have enough space to shelter every eligible family. When there is not a space, families will be given options for what their next step might be, including joining the EA Family Shelter Contact List. Learn how the EA Emergency Family Shelter Contact List works.
HomeBASE: A program that can help you pay for part of the rent for an apartment or find alternative housing instead of going to a shelter. This is available if you are eligible for EA Family Shelter. If you are already in EA Family Shelter, HomeBASE is the same resource that can help you move into an apartment by paying for a portion of your rent.
Homeless Coordinator: The person who helps you complete your application for Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter and determines if you are eligible for the program.
Housing Search Worker: A person who works at the shelter who is there to assist you and your family specifically in finding housing. (Also referred to as Housing Specialist or Rehousing Worker).
Rapid Shelter Track: This track is for families who may be able to quickly find permanent housing with high intensity support. The shelter stay limit is 30 business days.
Shelter Provider: A group that runs a shelter that is used for the EA Family Shelter Program system.