This afternoon, the MA House of Representatives will be debating the economic development bill (House Bill 5007) which provides a critical opportunity to advance housing and homelessness priorities.
Please copy this email below and send to your State Representative NOW (find contact info here)
Dear Representative [Name]:
I am writing to request your co-sponsorship of the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness’ priority amendments to the Economic Development Bill (House bill 5007) to address the housing and homelessness crisis in our region:
#652 – Expanded Access to RAFT (sponsored by Rep. Vargas) to increase RAFT emergency housing assistance funding by $250 million by allocating Budget Surplus and ARPA Funds
#176 – Local Option for Transfer Fees (sponsored by Rep. Connolly) to create an enabling legislative framework allowing local towns to enact a fee for certain real estate transactions to support affordable housing
#48 – Flexible Funding Pool (sponsored by Rep. Meschino) to create a flexible funding pool for creating supportive housing to address the medically complex needs of disabled men, women and children experiencing homelessness
#350 – Permanent Supportive Housing (sponsored by Rep. Vargas) to fund $10 million for permanent supportive housing for operating and service costs necessary to support individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness
#2 – Cliff Effect (sponsored by Rep. Duffy) to help working families mitigate the effects of the cliff effect.
#782 – Mass ID access (sponsored by Rep. O’Day) to expand access to standard Massachusetts ID cards for people experiencing homelessness
#823 – Regional Transit (sponsored by Rep. Blais) to increase funding and equity in our regional transit system
Thank you for your consideration and for your commitment to preventing and ending homelessness in Western Massachusetts and beyond.
Best,
[your name]
[your address if writing as a constituent; your org if writing on behalf of your org – do BOTH!]
