Fall 2024 Newsletter
Fall 2024 Newsletter
Dear friends,
I’m pleased to be able to share this update about progress at GBLS – not only for the accomplishments described herein, but also for the deeper implications they have for our community. For families experiencing the turbulence of housing instability and facing homelessness, GBLS and our peers are pushing for emergency shelter access so that kids don’t have to sleep on the street. As immigrants are loudly and cruelly castigated on national stages, GBLS and the greater Boston community stand with our Haitian community members and all immigrants seeking safety, refuge, and stability. We are achieving positive outcomes for clients, while providing a training ground for future legal leaders; and we are ensuring that GBLS is able to stay strong and present in our community. I invite you to think about what your support of GBLS means to you. We are truly grateful for it.
Emergency Shelter Cuts Mean Dire Consequences for Families
For 40 years, Massachusetts’ Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter program provided shelter and services to all eligible children and families experiencing homelessness, making the Commonwealth a “right to shelter” state. However, now, with the state’s family shelter system at capacity, Massachusetts has created stringent rules around its usage, turning EA shelter into a fleeting or inaccessible option for many families in need.
Last fall, the Governor capped the number of eligible families in EA shelter and created a waiting list. It was the first waiting list in the history of the program, and GBLS and advocacy groups protested the lack of a housing safety net for vulnerable families. Shortly after, the Legislature required the Administration to create overflow shelters so eligible families would have a safe place to stay while waiting. Since then, however, the Governor and Legislature have implemented policies that have chipped away at access to shelter, including a 9-month limit on EA shelter stays for many families.
In July, Governor Healey announced new policies that will prioritize certain children and families for EA shelter and force other families to make impossible choices. Temporary overflow shelter stays are now limited to 5 days, and families who use those overflow shelters become ineligible for EA shelter for six months. Otherwise, families must wait on the EA waiting list even with nowhere else to go. The new rules went into effect on August 1st and have left many children and families without a safe place to sleep at night.
GBLS and other housing and family advocates have conducted regular actions to try to convince Governor Healey to reverse her decision, including protests in front of Governor Healey’s office at the State House, an email and letter writing campaign, and an informational session to give those interested a chance to learn more about the new policy. Following the community’s pushback, the administration made a slight modification to the policy on July 31st, allowing extensions up to 30 days before a family is removed from shelter, but only in limited circumstances. There have been more protests since, and new demonstrations every week.
In addition to organizing visible and frequent actions to exert political pressure, GBLS shelter advocates have continued to help families, including long-time Massachusetts residents and new residents, to understand the EA shelter system: how to apply, how eligibility is determined, and what factors may prioritize their family for placement. GBLS has also created informational materials and met with community groups, legal groups, and health care providers to explain changes in the system, and how to look out for mistakes in how families are treated.
Every week, GBLS and other housing advocates work to change this harsh and inhumane policy so that children and families do not have to stay on the street while waiting for shelter. You can help. Call Governor Healey at (617) 725-4005 on weekdays between 9am-5pm to voice your concerns.
From Darkness to Hope: a GBLS Attorney Helps a Family Leave Domestic Violence Behind
“Fiona” and her husband married in 2000, and they had five children during their marriage. In 2021, after inflicting consistent abuse on Fiona and the children over the duration of the marriage, Fiona’s husband took their only car and moved to New York, abandoning the family. He filed for divorce the following year.
Overwhelmed by the court process, Fiona called GBLS, and a family law attorney agreed to represent her in her divorce, custody, and child support cases. After GBLS concluded two and a half years of significant discovery and a trial, the court granted Fiona sole legal and physical custody of the minor children, preserved over $25,000 in child support arrears owed by the husband, increased the husband’s weekly child support obligation, and allocated 90% of the parties’ marital debt to the husband. Fiona was allowed to retain all of the assets in her name, including her retirement accounts. The court also granted Fiona the right to claim all the children as dependents and for any child tax credits on all her future tax returns.
Now Fiona is starting nursing school, and her daughter was just accepted to Brown University on a full scholarship. The court’s decision will afford Fiona the peace of mind to move forward with her life while focusing on her own growth and the well-being of her children.
Helping Migrants Maintain Legal Status in the U.S.
This summer, GBLS staff across units and work roles, plus Haitian Creole interpreters and numerous community volunteers, came together to help Haitian new arrivals in Boston apply for or renew their legal protection to stay in the United States. Specifically, the GBLS-led effort helped people who are eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to apply or reapply for the protection to stay in the United States until the political and economic situation in Haiti has stabilized. TPS gives people legal status to live and work in the United States for a specified period of time without fear of removal.
Led by Anne Georges of GBLS’ Immigration Unit, the clinic ran for 5 weeks in July and August. During that time, volunteers met every Tuesday at Boston Missionary Baptist Community Center (BMBCC), which generously hosted the clinic to assist families and individuals with their TPS applications. Overall, the clinic helped over 410 community members submit their applications for TPS.
Thank you to our 2024 Janey Scholars!
Deborah Denhart, the Executive Director of the Janey Fund Charitable Trust, recently joined GBLS staff to say goodbye and thank you to our 2024 Janey Scholars Eliana Rivas Marte and Lucy Batres Rodriguez. As interns in GBLS’ Elder, Health, & Disability Unit and Immigration Unit, the Janey Scholars spent the summer both learning about civil legal aid and working with GBLS advocates on projects that will benefit GBLS’ clients in the months ahead. Eliana and Lucy are undergraduate students, and we hope that this summer has inspired them to pursue careers in community service, be it legal aid or other venues.
The Janey Scholars is a program for outstanding graduates from Boston high schools. The program provides financial support, internships, mentoring, career guidance, and other opportunities for those selected as Janey Scholars. GBLS has been fortunate to have Janey Scholars for several summers. We look forward to hosting new scholars in 2025!
A Fresh Face for GBLS’ 100-Year-Old Headquarters
While GBLS’ main office at 197 Friend Street has been our downtown headquarters since the mid-1990s, the building itself dates back to 1924, making the stately structure an impressive one hundred years old this year. Located in the Bulfinch Triangle Historic District, in Boston’s West End, 197 Friend Street has had numerous past lives, including as stables and an electric company, among other things.
It comes as no surprise, however, that such an old building needs repairs periodically, and we’ve just wrapped up a many months-long facade project to the two public facing sides of the building. If you passed by Friend Street this spring or summer, you likely saw the building covered in scaffolding and netting while workers carefully removed and replaced parts of the historic structure. Decades of weather and age had started to erode cast concrete portions of the building, creating a potential hazard for crumbling and further damage. Fixing the issue included replacing cast stone, concrete repairs, and masonry restoration to prevent damage from water or other environmental factors. This important work took several years to plan and was funded, in part, by a grant from the George B. Henderson Foundation.
We are thrilled to welcome the sunshine back into our offices this week, as work has finally concluded and 197 Friend Street is back to its historic glory, now safe for passersby and free of scaffolding once more.
Little Free Library Promotes Reading & Camaraderie
GBLS staff are enjoying a new feature in our breakroom – a “read & relay hub,” or a little free library created by and for staff. The brainchild of Amanda Lucarotti, GBLS’ Network Administrator, the little library is already a hot spot for staff. Thanks, Amanda!
GBLS in the News
- GBLS immigration attorney Anne Georges is quoted in this article about the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian migrants (Boston Globe), highlighting GBLS' free legal clinics over the summer to help TPS-eligible Haitian immigrants to register or renew their registration.
- Read about protests in response to Governor Healey's restrictions (GBH) on Massachusetts' Emergency Assistance shelter program. More on advocates' response to this policy change here. (Boston Globe)
- Relatedly, this broadcast explores the ways community members are filling the gaps the Healey administration's policy change has created in the MA shelter system. (Boston 25 News). Also explored from the angle of the administrative burden on landlords trying to offer their vacant units to mitigate the crisis here. (Boston Globe)
- "These are house-rich and cash-poor elders and low-income folks. This is their affordable housing, and they need to be able to stay in it," says GBLS senior attorney Todd Kaplan in this article about the state ban on home equity theft that become law over the summer. (WCVB) Also reported by Boston.com here.
- Workers who feared the U.S. immigration consequences of reporting illegal labor practices can now stay longer in the U.S. when they cooperate with investigations. (GBH)
- At the beginning of many leases in the Boston area, GBLS attorney Sarah Perlman shared some tips on how renters can protect themselves from rental scams. (GBH)
- The managing attorney of GBLS' Consumer Rights Unit, Matt Brooks, is quoted in this article about the cases that are clogging small claims dockets across the state. (GBH)
- At 2:50:40, hear GBLS senior tax attorney Angela Divairis call in to talk to Governor Healey about the MA Child Tax Credit and mixed status families' eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit live on the air! (GBH)
Greater Boston Legal Services provides free legal assistance in civil matters to low-income families and individuals in the Greater Boston area, helping people access the basic necessities of life, including shelter, healthcare, and safety from abuse.