Medford reps. lead House action to prevent homelessness
Medford Transcript
Fri May 08, 2009
Medford -
The House of Representatives recently passed an amendment to the fiscal 2010 budget to ensure that the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program is adequately funded and households are not placed at imminent risk of homelessness by having their rental assistance cut.
The House Committee on Ways and Means Budget Proposal would have cut the MRVP program in half, leading to housing instability for 2,500 to 2,900 households statewide. These households have an average annual income of $11,000 and cannot afford the high cost of rental housing in Massachusetts without assistance.
Reps. Paul Donato, Carl Sciortino and Sean Garbelley helped lead the push to preserve housing for this vulnerable population.
By a vote of 149-7, the House of Representatives restored MRVP funding to $35.8 million to keep the 5,100 families, elders and persons with disabilities served by the program housed.
"I strongly support this program which allows qualifying families the opportunity to live in safe, clean environments," said Donato. "The tenants will also feel more connected and responsible to landlords."
"Without this restoration," stated Sciortino, "families across the commonwealth would be facing immediate homelessness. This budget was filled with tough choices, but funding MRVP was common sense."
"No one needs to be reminded we are facing tough times," added Garballey, who filed one of three amendments that sough to fully fund the program. "Cutting MRVP funding at this time would be disastrous to families receiving this assistance and would cost the state more in the long run. Keeping working families off the streets is essential to their ability to successfully mitigate the hardships they face today. I am glad I was able to play a key role in restoring this funding in the House of Representatives and will work to make sure the Senate also sees its importance."
"Foreclosures, the recession, and a continued lack of housing affordability have made it very difficult for thousands of low and moderate income families across the commonwealth to maintain stable housing" said Sean Caron, director of Public Policy at the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, a Housing Solutions Campaign Member. "We are very appreciative of the Medford legislative delgation's leadership in preventing homelessness by supporting adequate housing assistance in House's Fiscal Year 2010 budget."
"In a time when the state's family shelter system is operating so far beyond capacity, the last thing that we can afford to do is cut off this lifeline to those who would likely be forced into an already over-burdened system," said Diane Sullivan, policy advocate with Homes for Families and administrative coordinator of the Housing Solutions Campaign. "Now, we need the Senate to also prioritize MRVP."
The Housing Solutions Campaign is a diverse coalition of organizations committed to preventing homelessness. The coalition is active supporter of the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program as the most efficient strategy to house low income families.