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Massachusetts aims to reduce emergency shelter costs to $350 million per year

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Massachusetts aims to reduce emergency shelter costs to 0 million per year


The Healey administration is aiming to eventually limit shelter costs to $350 million per year compared to the more than $1 billion dollars spent this fiscal year.

Governor Healey announced her plan on Friday that would bring significant changes over the next 19 months.

It includes winding down the use of 56 hotels and motels across the state and cutting down the shelter stay limit from nine months to six months.

Those steps will come with increased resources for finding long-term housing.

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Healey is proposing that the rental stipend families can receive under state’s HomeBASE program increase from $15,000 per family per year to $25,000 per family per year.

“The landlord gets payments from HomeBASE. As a family’s income increases, the goal is to get their income so they’re no longer dependent on HomeBASE,” said Jeff Thielman, President and CEO of the International Institute of New England.

The state intends to slash the 7,500-family limit across shelter system to below 3,500.

“To make the Governor’s plan work, the shelter system and all of us who work in it, have to work faster than we are right now,” said Thielman.

The plans to further limit shelter stays would need the approval of lawmakers.

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If approved, families considered more capable of supporting themselves could potentially face 30-day shelter limits.

“I think moving to a six-month limit is going to be tricky,” said Thielman. “There is a shortage of available units all across the state.”

Thielman said most of the migrant families his organization is working with in the shelter system have been temporarily paroled into the country for humanitarian reasons.

He said many have applied for or have received temporary protective status.

President-elect Trump has said he plans to end those legal entry programs.

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“It’s highly unlikely that President Trump will have the ability to revoke someone’s lawful status,” said Thielman.

Trump has said that the more than one million migrants who are in the U.S. under Humanitarian Parole will be subject to deportations.

While Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state, it has eight sanctuary cities.

Mayors in those communities and Governor Healey have all said that they will not target people based on their immigration status.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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School closings and delays for Massachusetts on Friday, March 6

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School closings and delays for Massachusetts on Friday, March 6


Several school districts in Massachusetts have delayed the start of classes for Friday, March 6 because of a mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow.

Take a look below for the full list of school closings and delays.

The list displays all public schools in alphabetical order, followed by private schools and then colleges and universities.

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Delays on this page are current as of

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Body part found in Shirley, Massachusetts pond, police suspect foul play

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Body part found in Shirley, Massachusetts pond, police suspect foul play



A body part was found in a pond in Shirley, Massachusetts and investigators said foul play is suspected.

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It was discovered around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday as a group of people were walking along Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.

Police said the group noticed something suspicious in the water of Phoenix Pond. The Middlesex District Attorney confirmed that the item was a body part, but would not elaborate.

Police shut down the road and divers could be seen exploring the pond late Wednesday. Authorities were back at the scene Thursday morning.

No other information is available at this point in the investigation.

Phoenix Pond connects to the Catacoonamug Brook, which flows into the Nashua River. It’s also connected to Lake Shirley.

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Shirley, Massachusetts is about 44 miles northwest of Boston and around 13 miles from the New Hampshire border. 



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Foul play suspected after human remains found in water in Shirley

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Foul play suspected after human remains found in water in Shirley


Human remains were discovered Wednesday in the water in Shirley, Massachusetts, and authorities suspect foul play.

Police in Shirley said in a social media post at 7:15 p.m. that they responded to “a suspicious object in the water near the Maritime Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.” Massachusetts State Police later said the object was believed to be human remains.

The bridge crosses Catacoonamug Brook near Phoenix Pond.

The office of Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said a group of young people was walking in the area around 5:30 p.m. and “reported seeing what appeared to be something consistent with a body part in the water.”

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Foul play is suspected, Ryan’s office said.

Authorities will continue investigating overnight into Thursday, and an increased police presence is expected in the area.

No further information was immediately available.



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