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A large batch of “Serious Incident” experiences from the Bay State’s migrant-family shelter program is shining a light-weight on disturbing incidents of bodily and sexual assault in state-funded shelters since 2022.
The 1000’s of pages of experiences from the Massachusetts Government Workplace of Housing and Livable Communities have been obtained by a Herald public data request and enchantment.
The experiences — which expose incidents of kid rape, home violence, brawls, drunkenness, medicine and extra within the emergency housing shelter system — come as Gov. Maura Healey offers with the fallout from a giant drug and fentanyl bust in a Revere migrant lodge. The governor just lately ordered an inspection of state-run shelters after that high-profile arrest.
The paperwork present that there was a protracted record of troubling incidents within the shelter system for years.
That features a father reportedly sexually assaulting and impregnating his daughter. “Her father has had sex with her multiple times, both on the journey to the U.S. and in the U.S.,” reads the report from Might of 2024.
Additionally in February final 12 months, Boston Police arrested a person and charged him with drug trafficking. Workers have been advised that police discovered a gun, “900 pills and 9 bullets and 30 grams of cocaine,” the report reads.
In one other incident in June, a lady was taking out the trash when she was virtually kidnapped, in keeping with a report.
“Some creep came up behind her, pinned her arm behind her and covered her mouth and proceeded to drag her down the street,” the report reads.
Additionally in June, an alleged sexual assault involving a baby was reported. No prison fees resulted from the alleged sexual assault, and remedy was really useful.
“I can’t stress enough that what’s happening in these migrant shelters is worse than anyone could ever imagine, and it’s been going on unabated for years,” MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale stated in an announcement. “The Healey-Driscoll Administration has overseen a state-funded humanitarian crisis, funded entirely by taxpayers, and now they want even more money to sustain this broken system.
“Inspections might uncover more horrors, but they don’t solve the root problem: Massachusetts’ overly generous Right-to-Shelter law, which has become a magnet for migrants and illegal immigrants worldwide,” she added.
In July, the Herald reported that greater than 300 “Serious Incident” experiences had been recorded at Bay State migrant-family shelter program websites to date in 2024.
The Massachusetts Government Workplace of Housing and Livable Communities had listed a complete of 316 Critical Incident experiences at motels, congregate websites, scattered websites, and co-shelters within the Emergency Help household shelter program.
The Herald obtained the Bay State’s “Serious Incident Reports Tracker Data” by a public data request after beforehand revealing how many individuals had been kicked out of the migrant-family shelter program for “inappropriate actions.”
As a result of the Government Workplace of Housing and Livable Communities withheld the detailed data underneath the Privateness Exemption and Public Security Exemption, the Herald appealed that with the state and EOHLC agreed to offer the data with redactions.
Since 2022, greater than 15,000 households and about 48,000 people have been served within the shelter system.
“We place the highest priority on the safety and well-being of residents and do not tolerate violence of any kind,” an Government Workplace of Housing and Livable Communities spokesperson stated in an announcement. “Our shelter providers are required to immediately report serious incidents to local police so that perpetrators can be investigated and prosecuted, and people who pose safety threats are removed from the shelter system.
“We also continue to make safety improvements to our shelter system, including requiring 24-hour onsite staffing,” the spokesperson added.
In November, the Healey administration introduced that it will likely be phasing out using motels and transferring folks extra rapidly out of the shelter system and into steady housing.
“While Massachusetts is managing this challenge in our state, we know that the surge in our shelter system is a direct result of the failures of our federal government,” the spokesperson stated. “This is a federal problem that requires a federal solution, and we need Congress to finally step up to secure our border and pass immigration reform.”
Carnevale pointed to the necessity for reform, proposing at the very least a six-month residency requirement for entry to the Proper-to-Shelter program.
“This program was designed to help Massachusetts families who have fallen on hard times—not to provide housing for individuals traveling from across the globe to take advantage of our system,” Carnevale stated. “If we don’t act now, this humanitarian disaster will worsen, crime will rise, and our state will run out of funding for critical services for our seniors, veterans, local aid and other important programs.”
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