While researching #LemuelShattuck hospital, I came across some stories about how some #TinyHouses set-up in the hospital's parking lot were HELPING with #Homelessness, but were dismantled because the funding ran out... WTF!

Shattuck’s cottage community, a relief to the #unsheltered at Mass. and Cass, to close this summer

By Jason Laughlin Globe Staff,Updated May 8, 2024

"Funding has run out for two Massachusetts housing programs that provide shelter to those who previously lived at the #TentEncampment near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard [#MassAndCass]. While the state plans to close one, officials are discussing ways to keep the second program open.

"A temporary cottage community on the grounds of Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in #JamaicaPlain will shutter at the end of July, a spokesperson from the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services said. The community is no longer accepting new residents, and the nearly two dozen people housed on the grounds now will be offered alternative housing.

" 'We are committed to ensuring there is no break in services and no break in housing for those who choose to continue forward,' said Deirdre Calvert, director of the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services.

"The cottages’ closure was first reported by WBUR.

"The cottages, which included a bed and small living area for individuals or couples, opened in 2022 amid the opioid crisis that led to a homeless encampment near the intersection known as Mass. and Cass. Since then, the community has sheltered more than 100 people, state officials said. The cottages, administered by Commonwealth Care Alliance, offered support for people in addiction while helping them transition to more permanent housing."

[...]

"The aluminum cottages each have lockable sleeping cabins, storage for residents’ belongings, heating, and air conditioning. People who had been sleeping on the streets told the Globe in 2022 interviews that the little residences offered a welcome oasis of stability."

@newsbot

Read more:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/08/metro/homeless-addiction-shattuck-boston-cottages-massachusetts-mass-cass/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/DzIao

#Massachusetts #Homeless #Unhoused #Houseless #FundingCuts #TransitionalHousing #CottageCommunities #Shelter #TinyHouses