The state’s filled-to-bursting Emergency Shelter system is expanding its presence into Lexington, where migrants and other homeless families will be temporarily housed at the local Massachusetts National Guard armory, the Herald has learned.
The Lexington Armory building located at 459 Bedford Street, in Lexington, Massachusetts, will be used to house up to 55 migrant families while the state looks for other more permanent places to keep them, Emergency Assistance Director and retired Air National Guard Lt. Gen. Scott Rice said.
“We have identified a state-owned building in Lexington to use as a safety-net site for families experiencing homelessness. Preparations are underway in close collaboration with local officials, and we expect to open the site next month,” he said in an emailed statement.
Lexington Town Manager James Malloy said the state notified the town of the plan about a week ago and has been in regular contact since then.
“The State has also informed our School Superintendent of any expected impacts. As this is a transitional site while the state locates more permanent housing for these families, we expect the only real impact to be our Health Department to make sure all their needs are met and the challenge with the schools in having students that may only be with our system for a short, temporary period,” Malloy told the Herald.
The news comes as the Bay State continues to grapple with a migrant crisis which has stretched on for months in the face of congressional inaction regarding the U.S. border or the ability of migrants to work while they await a court’s decision on the status of their asylum claims.
Last summer, Gov. Maura Healey declared that a state of emergency existed in Massachusetts as a result of the influx of migrant families, and instituted a statewide cap for the Emergency Shelter system of 7,500 families. The state has stayed at or near that cap since November.
According to information provided by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, there were 7,483 families in state shelters as of Friday with an additional about 350 families at “safety net” sites awaiting a place in Emergency Assistance housing. Healey’s staff stressed many of those in shelter are Bay State residents.
The commonwealth is alone among the 50 U.S. states in guaranteeing a right to shelter for pregnant mothers and families with small children. The bill for housing all of those new arrivals approaches $1 billion annually, according to state budget writers.
The Lexington Armory, according to information provided by the state, is a nearly 35,000-square-foot facility found along the eastern side of Route 4 that sits on just over four acres of green space and adjacent to the Ivan Street Conservation Land. Built in 1964, the 60-year old brick-veneered concrete building includes an assembly hall, a mess hall that doubles as classroom space, a kitchen, showers and locker room facilities, offices, and administrative space.
Since 1997, the building has been listed as the official home of the U.S Army’s historic 211th Military Police Battalion, according to army historians. That unit, also known as the “First Corps of Cadets,” can trace its roots to the famed Independent Company of Cadets, a unit formed in colonial Massachusetts in 1741 under the command of Lt. Col. Benjamin Pollard.
According to the EOHLC, there are nine Massachusetts National Guard members currently assigned to unit administrative tasks who use the building on a day-to-day basis. Those soldiers will continue their duties at the Lexington Armory while the site is used for shelter, according to the Healey Administration.
Many of the families that will be housed in Lexington are currently living at the Cass Center in Roxbury, which will cease operation as an overflow shelter in May.
In response to the Healey Administration’s decision to house migrants in Lexington, the MassGOP released the following statement.
“For years, homeless veterans have occupied our streets without access to the necessary options. Democrats didn’t take such extreme measures to house homeless individuals until the migrant crisis took over Massachusetts. Now, we’re witnessing these transitional housing facilities cropping up across the Commonwealth and veterans still aren’t prioritized within the system. Representative Brad Jones made an attempt to address this through a recent amendment, but shockingly, Democrats swiftly shot it down. Clearly, Democratic priorities are not aligned with the values of the residents of the Commonwealth,” a MassGOP spokesman said.
“It’s crucial to emphasize to residents that the individuals slated for housing here and at all of these transitional sights do not fall within the 7,500 families limit imposed on the shelter system. They are categorized as ‘in waiting.’ The migrant population in the Commonwealth far surpasses the cap, with no end in sight. It’s worse and more costly than folks realize. The incessant influx of migrants and the consequent perpetual spending can only be curbed by amending the right-to-shelter law, as proposed by Republicans in both the House and Senate. If left unchecked, this crisis will persist indefinitely until Massachusetts exhausts its housing options or depletes funds to sustain critical programs. Failure to take action now is going to have severe consequences for the Commonwealth,” they said.
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