Heartbreaking, sickening tales from Massachusetts’ migrant-family shelters: ‘I did something really bad’

Second of two components

Sifting via the hundreds of pages of “Serious Incident” studies from the Bay State’s migrant-family shelter program is a brutal learn.

The large trove of paperwork, which the Herald obtained via a public information request, element heartbreaking and disturbing tales involving these within the state-funded emergency housing shelter system.

The Herald earlier this week reported on the discharge of this large batch of studies from the Massachusetts Govt Workplace of Housing and Livable Communities. These troubling studies from the previous couple of years come as Gov. Maura Healey offers with the fallout from an enormous drug and fentanyl bust in a Revere migrant lodge.

Right here’s a deeper dive into a number of the “Serious Incident” studies partly two of the Herald’s particular report:

A mom overdosed whereas three of her kids had been within the different room

“A small child answered the door and staff asked if everything was alright,” the report reads. “Despite the child’s affirmation, staff were able to see visible water on the rug.”

The kid instructed the workers members that their mom was within the rest room, and they need to return later. There have been three youngsters within the room, and the workers refused to go away.

“When they entered the bathroom, the water was running, the tub was overflowing, and (redacted) was nude in the tub,” the report reads. “Their attempt to communicate with her was unsuccessful. A 911 call was made when she appeared unresponsive. Police arrived on scene and remained in the room without staff for about 30 minutes.

“As soon as they were able to speak with mom, it became apparent she was under the influence of some kind of substance,” the report continues. “As she struggled to speak, she was barely able to walk and tried to throw people out of her room.”

She was arrested and delivered to the hospital. The kids had been positioned within the non permanent care of their uncle.

Daughters had been presumably being trafficked

A mom was “visibly distraught, sobbing,” telling workers that her daughters had been being “picked up in a blue SUV by several adult Haitian males.”

“… at least on two occasions, the girls were gone for 3-4 nights,” the report reads.

When workers went to the lodge room to talk with the daughters, considered one of them mentioned if she has to reside along with her mom, “I’d rather be back in Haiti.”

Youngsters uncared for, massive knife on the ground as their mom slept

When workers went to the room, the youngsters opened the door and their mom — who had a child 10 days in the past — was in mattress sleeping.

“The children were in the room and on the floor was a huge knife and a gallon of milk,” the report reads. “There were dirty dishes on stove, counter and sink. The fridge was wide open also.”

Man dies from an overdose

A person’s girlfriend went to the entrance desk, saying she was involved as a result of her boyfriend had missed an appointment and wasn’t returning calls.

Workers performed a wellness examine and located the person “naked on the floor near the bathroom, unresponsive, and cold to the touch.”

Police and EMS arrived and pronounced him useless on account of an overdose. There have been warning indicators for the overdose, as his kids had been eliminated on account of substance abuse points.

Feminine raped

“Around 3 a.m., she heard several loud knocks on her apartment door. As she proceeded to open the door, the person forced himself into her apartment and raped her,” the report reads.

A number of folks tried to take their very own lives

A neighbor reported {that a} resident “attempted to take his own life, by hanging himself from the ceiling on the 3rd floor porch. He also threatened to jump. The neighbor called 911, the police arrived immediately and talked him off the porch. The ambulance transported him to the hospital.”

One other report reads: “The client began to inform staff that people in the shelter were making fun of her, making her feel uncomfortable and calling her names… She also stated that she was being made fun of because she is also a single mom, and she is considered a prostitute for not being married… she began to cry and said, ‘I did something really bad.’ The staff asked if she could share what she had done, and the client stated she had taken medication to end her life… She also reported feeling hopeless and like she had no other options… she was admitted to the hospital for further evaluation.”