“It’s a cost to our taxpayers,’’ Trask said last week, following a special selectmen’s meeting called to discuss homelessness in town. “The impact on our schools is a real concern … We aren’t being asked [to provide public services]. We’re being told by the state.’’
With traditional shelters full, the state’s housing crisis has forced a record 1,698 homeless families into motels across Massachusetts, according to the state Department of Housing and Community Development.
Danvers is one of 35 Bay State communities where motels have contracted with the state to house homeless families. Other motels with homeless families are in Burlington, Chelmsford, Haverhill, Malden, Saugus, Tewksbury, and Woburn.
The state uses a nonprofit vendor to identify motels to house homeless families, said Robert Pulster, associate director of the Department of Housing and Community Development.
“These are placements of last resort,’’ Pulster said an interview after the Danvers meeting. “There is a network of motels across the state that have stepped up and are willing to work with [the state] to address this issue.’’
Pulster noted that federal law requires local school districts to cover transportation costs for homeless students. “That’s a federal mandate that we have to respond to, just like a city or town does. We don’t have additional resources to fund [transportation costs] to any community.’’
In Danvers, the number of homeless families living in Danvers motels has dropped from 147 as of Aug. 1 to 133 on Aug. 23, according to the state. The families have a total of 214 children, ranging from preschool to high school students, the data show.
Communities are not reimbursed for any increased demand in local services, such as schools, police, and fire. The lack of state assistance is bad public policy, Danvers officials said.
“I am very, very concerned,’’ said Selectman William Clark. “The state has essentially passed this [responsibility] to the towns.’’
Selectman Michael Powers called the state’s use of motels to house homeless families in cramped motel rooms “disgraceful … It’s a windfall for profiteering hotel chains.’’
