Norfolk, MA Bay State Correctional Center to serve as new emergency shelter site

A new emergency shelter is opening in Norfolk, Massachusetts, to house migrant families as the Bay State continues to deal with a strained and over-capacity shelter system, town officials said Monday.

The Healey administration informed town leaders Friday of the plan, according to the town. The shelter will be located at the decommissioned Bay State Correctional Center.

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"This decision was made as part of its ongoing response to the number of migrant families arriving in Massachusetts," officials said in a release Monday. "The town had no role in this decision and was not consulted prior."

The shelter will run for six to 12 months, be managed 24/7 by a shelter operator and house up to 140 families, or up to 450 people total, who are eligible for emergency assistance, the town said.

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Some of those families are currently housed at Boston Logan International Airport, according to the town.

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Town leaders say they will meet "regularly in the coming days" because an "influx of a large number of families poses many logistical challenges to Norfolk."

Massachusetts is the only state in the country that guarantees emergency shelter services to some families and pregnant women under a right-to-shelter law.

Last fall, Gov. Maura Healey imposed a capacity limit of 7,500 families as the state saw a record number of people in need, spurred forward by an influx of migrant families arriving in the state. The system had remained at capacity for months, with some families on wait lists or living in transitional "safety net" sites.

State lawmakers have been looking at ways to address the crisis, including coming up with a budget that dedicates millions of dollars to keep the family shelter program functional. There is also a proposal to limit the length of a stay at a shelter site to nine months, which worries advocates who say the average stay is significantly longer.

State leaders, including Healey, have also called on the federal government for more aid and to control the situation at the border.