Report shows which Massachusetts communities have the most families at emergency shelters
BOSTON - Massachusetts spent another $42 million on its emergency shelter system over the span of just two weeks in December, according to a report obtained by the State House News Service.
State officials said most of that spending is from outstanding bills. Massachusetts in late December also opened up an emergency overnight shelter at the Registry of Deeds building in Cambridge that can hold up to 70 families as they wait for help.
Nearly 1,400 families have applied for shelter since the state hit a capacity of 7,500 in November, according to to the report, which also showed that the number of migrants with work permits tripled over a two-week period.
Included in the Jan. 2 report is a breakdown of where families in the emergency shelter system are staying. Below is a list of cities and towns with at least 25 families currently in shelters, hotels or motels.
Boston 1,309 total families
Worcester 302
Springfield 289
Lynn 283
Peabody 195
Stoughton 194
Marlboro 189
Woburn 173
Holyoke 171
Brockton 167
Taunton 164
Salem 163
Lowell 163
Dedham 159
Framingham 157
Danvers 129
Chicopee 123
Everett 110
West Springfield 107
Westboro 104
Kingston 99
Concord 95
Franklin 94
Bedford 92
Foxboro 92
Methuen 84
Fall River 77
Shrewsbury 73
Haverhill 71
Saugus 70
Milford 70
North Attleboro 67
Waltham 65
Revere 63
Middleboro 59
Sharon 56
Greenfield 56
Plainville 56
Lawrence 54
Gardner 52
Malden 51
Raynham 48
Bourne 46
Sturbridge 46
Hudson 44
Ayer 43
Watertown 43
Rockland 42
Mansfield 38
Leicester 37
Yarmouth 36
Plymouth 36
Medford 36
Pittsfield 35
Fairhaven 35
Dartmouth 35
Swansea 34
Cambridge 34
Burlington 34
Brookline 33
Barnstable 33
Auburn 33
Chelsea 32
Northboro 31
Lexington 30
Sutton 30
Westminster 29
New Bedford 28
Tewksbury 27
Beverly 26
Andover 25
