Massachusetts Emergency Shelter Costs Soar to Over $1 Billion in FY2025

Governor Maura Healey’s emergency shelter system is on track to cost Massachusetts taxpayers a jaw-dropping $1.06 billion this fiscal year, and critics say it’s less of a solution and more of a blank check with no end in sight.

According to a new report from the Executive Office for Administration and Finance and the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, the average weekly cost per family in the state-run shelter program is $3,496 — or roughly $1,000 per person, per week. That includes temporary hotel stays, meals, public education for the children, legal services, and case management. Yes, you read that right — Healey’s Massachusetts is spending more per week on sheltering a single family than many residents pay in monthly rent or mortgage.

As of June, nearly 7,500 families are being housed in everything from hotels to former college dorms, thanks to Healey’s open-door approach to emergency housing. It’s a program that started as a safety net and has now ballooned into a budget-busting, taxpayer-funded concierge service with no clear exit strategy.

Shelter and lodging costs make up more than half the bill (55%), followed by food services (15%), education and transportation (12%), and legal and case management services (18%). In other words, Healey is running the most expensive hotel chain in the state — and you’re paying for it.

The Governor continues to defend the spending as a “moral obligation,” but many Bay Staters are wondering where that moral compass was when their property taxes spiked, schools saw budget freezes, and veterans and senior housing projects were left to collect dust. With the shelter system bursting at the seams, the National Guard has even been deployed to help manage the chaos — a dystopian image of Healey’s so-called “compassionate” governance.

Meanwhile, legislative leaders are scrambling for solutions: from tightening eligibility and demanding more federal aid to pushing for actual investment in permanent housing. But the damage may already be done. This year’s shelter price tag is more than double what it was just two years ago and is the highest in state history.

One thing’s clear — under Maura Healey’s leadership, Massachusetts has gone from the “Spirit of America” to the Hotel California of New England: you can check in anytime you like, but taxpayers may never check out of the bill.