Massachusetts’ HomeBASE program—designed to help families exit emergency shelters and find stable housing—is facing mounting pressure as migrant arrivals surge and funding dries up faster than expected.
Under the program’s current rules, recipients must contribute at least 30% of their monthly income toward rent, while HomeBASE covers the rest—up to $30,000 spread over two years. However, for many like Nadine, a migrant parent trying to secure housing, that support is being exhausted well before the two-year period ends.
“HomeBASE had to pay a bigger share, so the money went out a lot quicker,” Nadine told The Boston Globe, explaining how her family’s limited income meant the program bore most of the rental cost. She suggested that families could help extend the life of the funds by voluntarily increasing their monthly contribution, though that’s not feasible for everyone.
The program was developed to move families out of the emergency assistance shelter system, but both volunteers and shelter operators argue that without strategic flexibility, the funding simply isn’t sustainable. Many participants reportedly run through their $30,000 stipend before they’ve secured stable employment or received work permits, leaving them vulnerable once again to homelessness.
This has reignited debate over the perceived fairness of the support system. Critics point out that American citizens, including some of the state’s most vulnerable populations, don’t receive comparable benefits. Disabled veterans, for example, receive just $2,500 annually under the Massachusetts Hero Act, and that’s only if they are blind, paraplegic, or otherwise severely disabled, according to the Fall River Reporter.
Housing advocates also note that while Massachusetts veterans do get preference in permanent housing placements, families with young children—including those who are undocumented—often take priority in the emergency shelter system. This has sparked frustration among some taxpayers, who question why migrant families seem to have quicker access to housing support than citizens who have been waiting for years.
According to USAFacts, the average wait time for subsidized housing in Massachusetts is three years and three months—an entire year longer than the national average.
Despite these challenges and criticisms, officials with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities continue to defend the HomeBASE initiative. “HomeBASE has been critical in helping thousands of families leave the shelter system in the past year alone,” a housing office spokesperson said in defense of the program’s cost-effectiveness. “It’s a key component in reducing the size and expense of our shelter network.”
Funding, however, is moving in the opposite direction. In the fiscal year 2026 budget, HomeBASE was allocated $57.3 million—a drop from the $59.4 million it received in 2023, the same year Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency due to the growing shelter crisis.
The strain on the system coincides with a steady influx of migrants, particularly Haitian families, arriving in Massachusetts. Many are funneled into the state’s Emergency Assistance migrant-family shelter program, which provides access to housing, education, and job placement services. In 2023, staff at the Immigrant Families Services Institute helped migrants enroll in state programs, including HomeBASE.
Yet, the system is not without its darker moments. Data released in January 2025 revealed 316 “serious incident” reports from state-run shelter locations—ranging from hotels to congregate living centers—since 2022. These reports prompted concern from the public and political critics, though Governor Healey insisted the majority of families in the system follow the rules.
“The vast majority of folks are complying,” Healey told reporters earlier this year. She emphasized that many of the adults have work authorization and are already employed, while their children attend school. “Relative to that number, the instances have been very few,” she added, referring to the more than 50,000 people who’ve moved through the system in the last three years.
Nonetheless, Healey acknowledged the gravity of the incidents and said her administration takes them seriously. “I take every—every—incident seriously,” she said. “And I want my team to take, I want shelter providers to take, every incident seriously.”
As the state grapples with both an affordable housing shortage and a growing shelter population, questions remain about the long-term viability of HomeBASE. How long are taxpayers going to put up with the government dumping money into programs that barely benefit American citizens?
