Homelessness has been rising in MA and nationwide for several years, but it has surged beyond the state’s family shelter capacity in 2023 and 2024.
5,000 Boston Public Schools students experienced homelessness this academic year
This summer, the Boston Globe reported that more than 5,000 Boston Public Schools students experienced homelessness during the 2023-2024 academic year - a 17% increase over the past several years. This represents about 10% of the total student population. Students who experience homelessness may struggle to attend school due to lack of transportation, frequently moving between shelters and districts, poorer sleep and more frequent illnesses, and lack of access to basic essentials like well-fitting clothing and hygiene items like menstrual products. They experience higher rates of chronic absenteeism, lower standardized test scores, and lower graduation rates than their stably housed peers.
Logan Airport overnight ban takes effect July 9
Effective July 9, families are no longer permitted to sleep at Logan Airport, where hundreds of people had sought shelter since last fall when the family shelter system first reached capacity. Families who are on the Emergency Assistance waiting list are being transported to new temporary shelter facilities, including a recently refurbished former prison in Norfolk. Others - including parents with infants and young children - aren’t sure where they will go next.
Extreme heat increases risks to those experiencing homelessness
The City of Boston has already declared several heat advisories this summer, advising residents to take precautions against the dangers of extreme heat, which include heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death. These precautions, like staying hydrated, wearing sunscreen to avoid sunburn, and staying in an air conditioned facility, may be much more difficult for those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Moreover, our neighbors experiencing homelessness tend to have higher rates of chronic illnesses which make them more vulnerable to heat-related dangers.
Circle of Hope’s partners are all seeing an increase in need
Over the past year, Circle of Hope’s partner programs doubled and tripled their requests for help as use of their services surged. Use of the on-campus resource center at Framingham State University, for instance, is up 100% from last year. Our partner family shelters are at capacity and our partner overnight shelters for individual adults are overcrowded as they desperately try to help as many people as possible.
In 2023, we served 16% more people than in 2022, and already this year we have launched two new partnerships to meet the growing needs of families experiencing homelessness and trauma. Many of these families recently migrated to Massachusetts to escape violence in their home countries. We partnered with Eliot Community Human Services MSPCC Early Arrival Program in Revere earlier this year to serve 57 newly arrived moms in their third trimester of pregnancy. Coming from warmer climates, they had no seasonally appropriate clothing for themselves or their children, and nothing at all for their babies as they neared their due dates. In the first month of our partnership, eight women gave birth, and Circle of Hope was there with Welcome Baby Bags, clothing, and postpartum essentials for the moms and newborns.
We also partnered with Voices Against Violence, a domestic violence shelter operated by South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) in Framingham. We provide clothing and hygiene essentials to survivors of domestic violence and their children who are sheltered in a protected location. Survivors of domestic violence experiencing homelessness face additional challenges as they navigate issues of safety and confidentiality when they seek shelter and stable housing. By providing them with well-fitting clothing and hygiene products for their whole family, Circle of Hope is taking one obstacle out of their path to recovery.
This spring, we made our first delivery to Winthrop Elementary School in Boston, providing clothing and hygiene essentials to children staying in emergency shelters. We are having conversations with Boston Public Schools to determine how best to continue serving the increasing number of students in deep need.
How to help
You can help by donating new and gently used clothing and hygiene essentials for infants, children, and adults, joining our Go-To Crew to get email alerts about our urgent donation needs, running a collection drive or organizing a volunteer event to assemble Get Set packages, Welcome Baby Bags, and other donation kits, or giving a gift to support our work.
