Officials detail plan for shelter at former soldiers’ home
Chelsea building was initially set to be demolished
CHELSEA — City and state officials addressed questions from dozens of residents here Thursday about plans for a temporary shelter for migrant and homeless families that is expected to open this month.
State officials said late last month that in April they would open an overflow shelter in the former Chelsea Soldiers’ Home to help address the growing need for emergency housing. The state’s ability to shelter migrant and homeless families has become an increasing political and fiscal challenge amid a surge of new arrivals fleeing poverty and political upheaval in Haiti and elsewhere.
Officials had planned to demolish the vacant building since opening a larger, more modern Massachusetts Veterans Home at Chelsea last year.
City manager Fidel Maltez and City Councilor Melinda Vega moderated the discussion, which drew about 60 people to the Chelsea Senior Center.
Adit Basheer, the state’s deputy director of emergency assistance, said Massachusetts is overwhelmed by the constant flow of migrants seeking shelter. There are about 7,500 families in the system with 700 families on a waiting list, he said.
“We’ve expanded our system, expanding the types of sites we’ve opened up.” Basheer told residents and officials. “And as you can tell we’re exploring all different types of buildings, everything from an active office building to a former soldiers’ home.”
The state has opened overflow shelters in several communities, including the Melnea Cass Recreation Complex in Roxbury. Other overnight shelters have been operated in former dormitories at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy and Salem State University.
The Chelsea shelter is expected to house roughly 100 families and is intended for parents with children or pregnant women who are eligible for the state’s emergency shelter program but have been placed on a waitlist. The facility will offer on-site services to migrants, including help finding stable housing, and connecting with potential employers, officials said.
At Thursday’s meeting, residents also heard from local and state officials and representatives from La Colaborativa, a social service organization poised to run the temporary shelter.
Gladys Vega, president of La Colaborativa, said there would be no drastic impact to the neighborhood. ”We built this community together in Chelsea, and Chelsea has been through hell,” she said. “So we want to make it as smooth as possible helping these new families.”
La Colaborativa will run the site on four floors of the Lawrence F. Quigley Memorial longterm care facility. Renovations are being made so that the shelter can open in a week or two.
The nonprofit already is operating a day shelter for migrants at its headquarters on Broadway. Migrants, many of whom are from impoverished Haiti, are able to attend the shelter during the day, before returning to an overnight shelter at the Cambridge Courthouse.
Alex Train, La Colaborativa’s chief operating officer, said the aim was to “keep the spending in Chelsea” by hiring local residents to work at the shelter and turning to local restaurants and businesses to provide food, laundry, and other services.
The shelter will have strict entry protocols, nightly curfews, and around-the-clock security from a company led by a retired Chelsea police officer, Vega said.
Residents wanted to know where migrant children would go to school, and what officials are doing at the state and federal levels to solve the housing crisis. They also wanted to know how they could “meet the moment” by volunteering.