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Center for Social Policy
McCormack Graduate School
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125-3393
Phone: (617) 287 5550
Fax: (617) 287 5544
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29,000 Individuals Stayed in Massachusetts Emergency Homeless Shelters in 2003, 80% Became Homeless
in Massachusetts
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Author(s):
n/a
Source(s):
Center for Social Policy
Date: July 7, 2004
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Approximately 29,000 unaccompanied individuals spent a night in an emergency homeless shelter in
2003, according to a new report by the Center for Social Policy at the University of
Massachusetts Boston. The new tally represents a 16% increase over an estimate of 25,000 issued
in 1999. Half of the people using shelter stayed for a week or less, but, over the course of the
year, nearly three-quarters of the beds were occupied by those who stayed for more than two
months. "More individuals are using the homeless shelter system, and this isn't even the whole
homeless picture. It doesn't include families, people in specialized shelters, or those on the
streets who never make it to a shelter," said Tatjana Meschede, primary author of the report.
According to Meschede, the 1999 estimate included more types of shelters, so the percentage
increase also may be greater than these numbers can show.
According to the report, Hard Numbers, Hard Times: Homeless Individuals in Massachusetts
Emergency Shelters, 1999-2003, nearly 80% of individuals using shelters lived in Massachusetts
when they first became homeless, and 60% of those sheltered in Boston come from the Greater
Boston area. "People are not shopping around for the best place to be homeless," Meschede
said. "If there are homeless people in your backyard, the odds are that they come from your
backyard."
Lack of sufficient financial resources is a central problem. Sixty percent of those served
attributed their homelessness to financial burdens. Of those who reported any income at
shelter entry, the proportion of shelter guests with employment income in 2003 was 40%, and
their monthly employment income was $970, slightly lower than in the past. Meanwhile,
according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, fair market rents have climbed
steadily. In 2003, a studio apartment in Massachusetts averaged $801, or 83% of the average
employment income of shelter users.
Shelter guests' access to health insurance appears to have been directly affected by recent
cuts to MassHealth. In 2003, 38% of shelter guests, almost 11,000 people, had no health
insurance, compared to 28% in 2002. Those over 55 are the fastest growing sector of the
shelter population, and not surprisingly, this population also has the most medical needs.
Substance abuse and mental health issues were the most frequently reported special needs.
The report uses five years of data from seventeen emergency shelters gathered as part of a
statewide homeless management information system, funded by the state as well as the cities
of Boston, Cambridge and other municipalities. In addition to the report, the Center is also
introducing a new website called MASShelter Data Center which enables users to generate
custom reports. Download the full report or access MASShelter Data Center at
www.csp.umb.edu/Masshelter.
The Center for Social Policy, at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies,
University of Massachusetts Boston, engages in applied research aimed at addressing social
and economic inequalities in Massachusetts, New England and across the country.
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