Former official who helped write Mass. right to shelter law wants to protect premise of law

A former Massachusetts official who helped shape the state's right to shelter law for more than 40 years ago wants to make sure Gov. Maura Healey's proposed changes don't prevent families from accessing shelter when they need it.

Phil Johnston was Health and Human Services Secretary under Gov. Michael Dukakis in the 1980s. He said he thinks state leaders will come to an agreement that protects the original premise of the statute.

"I trust that vulnerable people will continue to be protected," Johnston said. "This is a state that tries to demonstrate that all the time. And we need to continue that approach."

Massachusetts is the only state in the country that guarantees homeless families with children the right to shelter.

But on Wednesday, as Healey continues to deal with an overburdened emergency shelter system, she sent a letter to legislative leaders proposing an overhaul of the law.

The governor's proposed changes include requiring families to show that all members have legal status in the U.S. — instead of just one member of the family as the law now says; a requirement that families provide up-front documentation showing they're eligible for emergency shelter; and a mandate that families show residency in Massachusetts, by documenting they've lived here for at least three months or demonstrating that they intend to stay here.

Republican lawmakers this week called for stricter regulation of the shelter system. That came amid outcry over the recent arrest of a man who allegedly brought an assault-style rifle and a large stash of fentanyl into a room at a family shelter in Revere.

The cost to run the shelter system has ballooned to about $1 billion a year in the face of an overall increase in homelessness and a large jump in the number of migrant families coming to Massachusetts.

Listen to the audio atop this post for Johnston's full interview with WBUR's All Things Considered.