A high Democrat who helped lead a sequence of legislative oversight hearings on the Baker administration’s COVID-19 response criticized Gov. Maura Healey for not utilizing typical emergency helps or coordination instruments to handle Massachusetts’ shelter disaster.
Rep. William Driscoll, a fourth-term Democrat from Milton, mentioned the state has reached a degree “where a pivot is necessary and overdue.” More than 6,200 households are in an emergency shelter system that’s propped up on stilts by an unlimited internet of resorts and motels — a construction that’s contributing to a $45 million month-to-month tab.
A unified command construction supported and facilitated day-to-day by skilled workers must be established, Driscoll mentioned in a letter to Healey Monday. The administration “appears to be hastily adapting to the day-to-day operations of multiple agencies across multiple secretariats to attempt a version of crisis response,” he wrote.
“A state of emergency has been declared yet the structure and cadence of the response underway is not recognizable to many with a lifetime of emergency management experience and expertise,” wrote Driscoll, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Emergency Preparedness and Management Committee.
Healey declared a state of emergency final month because the emergency shelter system began to pressure with newly arrived migrants and sky-high housing prices. The administration initiatives about 1,000 households, together with locals who’re experiencing homelessness and newly arrived migrants, to enter the state’s emergency shelter system every month.
Massachusetts’ right-to-shelter regulation requires officers to offer rapid housing lodging to homeless households, together with migrants. That means an inflow of latest arrivals this previous yr has began to overburden an already crowded system.
In her personal letter to the federal authorities final week, Healey mentioned the inflow of arriving migrants “shows no sign of abating.” The first-term Democrat has referred to as on the Biden administration to ship financial help and ease migrant work authorization laws.
Healey spokesperson Karissa Hand mentioned the governor’s workplace is reviewing the letter.
“Our administration implemented an Incident Command Structure in May to manage this rapidly evolving and unprecedented emergency. Thanks to incident command’s coordination between Housing and Livable Communities, Health and Human Services, MEMA and the National Guard, we have successfully expanded critical service capacity and provided safe and secure shelter to thousands of children and families in need,” Hand mentioned in an announcement.
Healey has began to face public criticism this month from inside her personal get together over her administration’s communication on the state of emergency. She held a sequence of personal briefings final week with House and Senate lawmakers after which Democratic leaders knocked her dealing with of the state of affairs.
Healey has referred to as up the National Guard to workers emergency shelters that should not have contracted service suppliers and publicized $1.9 million in federal funding for shelters and transportation for migrants.
Driscoll critiqued Healey on “communications challenges that have been evident in recent weeks.”
“The calling up of additional National Guard along with recent briefings to legislators, municipalities and NGOs underscores that we are entering a new phase of the crisis. It is well past time for the commonwealth’s plan and approach to evolve,” Driscoll mentioned. “The ongoing state of emergency requires a durable approach rooted in leading practices of emergency and crisis management.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”