Next week, the State Senate will debate and decide their proposed FY27 budget.
Please take 5 minutes to sign on to these action letters organized by our statewide partners that include the Network’s amendment priorities. We can add our voices to this call and we can be heard:
Please take 5 more minutes to communicate directly with your Senator (find their contact info here) Copy and paste here or below the Network priorities with a simple request to “please co-sponsor” these Network priorities.
Please do this by tomorrow, Friday, May 15, or Monday morning May 18. Let’s be counted!
Western MA Network to End Homelessness Senate Budget Amendment Co-sponsorship Requests
- #842 – EA Shelter Access (Sen. Kennedy)
Restores presumptive eligibility for families who appear to be eligible for shelter; requires same-day placements for families who lack feasible alternative housing; provides families with an initial eligibility period of 9 months instead of the current 6 month period. - #42 – Expand and Improve RAFT (Sen. Crighton)Increases the RAFT benefit cap to $10,000 per year and eliminates the requirement for a notice to quit, utility shutoff notice, or summary process summons, allowing for more upstream access to benefits.
- #515 – Improvements to HomeBASE (Sen. Miranda)
Improves upstream access to benefits and increases the grant limit per family to $50,000 for the first two years and $25,000 subsequently. - #150 – Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) (Sen. Lovely)
Increases funding to $300 million for approximately 1,000 new vouchers. - #450 – Housing Consumer Education Centers (Sen. Gómez)
Increases funding to $8,974,000 for Housing Consumer Education Centers to provide “front door” support for people seeking RAFT or experiencing a range of housing challenges. - #904 – Access to Counsel in Evictions (Sen. DiDomenico)
Provides $3 million for the statewide Access to Counsel in Evictions program to prevent homelessness and keep people housed. - #826 – Eviction Record Sealing (Sen. Edwards)
Allows for automatic eviction record sealing for cases that end in dismissal or a win for the tenant and creates an option for the court to waive sealing requirements. - #40 – Sponsor-Based Permanent Supportive Housing (Sen. Crighton)
Increases funding to $12,072,875 for sponsor-based permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. - #14 – Department of Mental Health (DMH) Rental Subsidy Program (Sen. Eldridge)
Increases funding to $23,548,125 to preserve more than 2,500 vouchers, including 150 existing vouchers at risk of being lost to attrition, for housing people experiencing homelessness and disabling mental health conditions. - #41 – Supportive Housing Pool Fund (Sen. Crighton)
Appropriates $5 million for the Supportive Housing Pool Fund to increase the supply of permanent supportive housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. - #101 – Rental Bridge Subsidies for Older Adults (Sen. Jehlen)
Funds a new line item at $7.5 million to expand the short-term housing bridge subsidy for low-income older adults who are at risk of housing instability or homelessness - #5812 – Housing and Services for Unaccompanied Youth Experiencing Homelessness (Sen. Eldridge)
Increases funding to $12 million for housing and services for unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness. - #41 – Supportive Housing Pool Fund (Sen. Crighton)
Appropriates $5 million for the Supportive Housing Pool Fund to increase the supply of permanent supportive housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. - #63– Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) (Sen. Jehlen)
Adopt the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act in the budget to prevent further tenant displacement - #74 – Fair Housing Fund (Sen. Cyr)
Works to address inequity in the housing system by appropriating $1 million for a transfer to the Fair Housing Fund to support the Fair Housing Trust, the Office of Fair Housing, and Fair Housing Enforcement Organizations. - #454 – Bridge to Prosperity Pilot (Sen. Gómez)
Funds $550,000 to extend the Cliff Effects Pilot Program to help preserve housing stability. - #139 – Yes in God’s Back Yard (Sen. Crighton & Sen. Cyr)
Allows religious organizations to use their land for multifamily housing with required affordable homes, reducing local zoning barriers, helping expand housing choices across the Commonwealth, and providing new property tax revenue to municipalities.
The Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness also extends its gratitude to Senator Jo Comerford in advance for securing a $50,000 amendment to support the Network’s continuity (in conjunction with the House budget’s allocation of $50,000, with thanks to Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa).
