On Monday, May 20, the Senate will begin debating its FY25 Budget. Now is the time to ask our senators to co-sponsor key amendments.
The MA Coalition for the Homeless has created this excellent one-minute action tool to weigh in on their top priorities, which the Network share as well. Please take action!
The Network also is pleased to share its own amendment priority list here and below. Please contact your Senator (find your Senator’s contact info here) with this list and say: “please co-sponsor these amendments.” And you will be counted!
Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness
FY25 Senate Budget Amendment Co-Sponsorship Requests
Amendment #435 (Sen. Mark) – Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness to fund the Network’s fiscal agent, United Way of Pioneer Valley, $50,000 to support housing stability and homelessness prevention programs
Amendment #240 (Sen. Gomez) – Improvements to the RAFT Homelessness Prevention Program to allow eligible households to access up to $10,000 in RAFT funds in a 12-month period, up from the current cap of $7,000; move RAFT benefits upstream by prohibiting EOHLC from imposing a notice to quit requirement on households seeking assistance with back rent; require direct-to-tenant payments in cases where the landlord is not cooperative with the application and documentation process; and direct EOHLC to provide forward rent payments for eligible households if the award would not exceed the 12-month benefit cap.
Amendment #284 (Sen. Edwards) – Housing Consumer Education Centers to restore funding to FY24 levels ($10.474m), up from the $8.97 funded in the Senate Ways and Means budget, in order to allow the HCECs to continue to serve the significant demand for housing assistance that still persists.
Amendment #218 (Sen. Lovely) – Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) to codify MRVP into state statute; ensure that any unspent funds from one fiscal year would be carried into the next fiscal year; enshrine the ability to use Small Area Fair Market Rents in determining payment standards; require inspections of units before the initial assistance payments are made and at least every two years after that; and require data collection and reporting.
Amendments #241 (Sen. Gomez,), #603 (Sen. Payano), and #337 (Sen. Eldridge) to Improve Emergency Assistance for Children and Families. These amendments would expand tracking and reporting language to include data on families placed on the EA waiting list; require EOHLC to make every effort to place families approved for EA immediately in traditional shelters, hotels/motels, or overflow spaces; create an ombudsperson unit within EOHLC, with language similar to that which was enacted with the FY22 budget; clarify that EOHLC should not consider shelter benefits received prior to June 1, 2024 in calculating participants’ eligibility for ongoing EA shelter benefits; and officially remove the EA asset limit.
Amendment #323 (Sen. Jehlen) – Improvements to HomeBASE to allow families to renew HomeBASE benefits beyond 3 years if needed and provide upstream access to benefits to prevent the loss of existing housing and to promote housing stability.
Amendment #458 (Sen. Gomez) – Cliff Effect Pilot Project to fund this pilot program for $100,000 in order to effectively demonstrate how it is possible to remove the penalty of losing crucial benefits while gaining income through employment.
Amendment #892 (Sen. R. Kennedy) – Identification for youth and adults experiencing homelessness to add $75,000 to the Massachusetts Transportation Trust Fund to provide no-cost Mass IDs to youth and adults experiencing homelessness. It would build on legislation unanimously passed by the Senate in July 2023.
Amendment #578 (Senator DeDomenico) – Lift Kids Out of Poverty by raising TAFDC and EAEDC cash assistance grants 10% in October 2024, 6 months earlier than these increases would take effect under the Senate Ways and Means Committee Proposal.
