Site of Newton emergency shelter for migrants, families in need disclosed after months of silence

Boston Herald - 2/14/2024

A parish in Newton has provided a safety-net shelter for up to 30 families since November, but officials had kept the location out of the public purview because of threats of violence.

That was until this week when church leaders and Mayor Ruthanne Fuller disclosed Our Lady of Help Christians Parish as the site of the temporary shelter, operated by Catholic Charities.

In her Tuesday mayor’s update, Fuller explained that Catholic Charities and the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, along with the parish, recommended the city not to release the location after they saw “protests and threats aimed at shelter residents and workers at several locations in the Commonwealth” earlier in the fall.

Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, in partnership with Catholic Charities, has provided emergency housing on its campus for “those most in need, mostly women in recovery from addiction or fleeing domestic violence with their children,” for over 30 years.

Catholic Charities inquired in November whether it could continue using the campus for “overflow temporary stays for the most vulnerable families” after two shelters became vacant “due to programmatic changes,” the agency and parish leadership wrote in a joint statement Tuesday.

Officials, up until this week, had been following Catholic Charities’ policy of not disclosing the locations of emergency shelter sites to protect clients and staff. But they made the safety-net space at Our Lady’s known Tuesday to address security at the site.

“You may notice we have private security on site, and they are there for the safety of our staff and residents – not for any perceived risk to our parish community or neighbors,” the joint statement reads. “We do regret that some of the young children staying at this site tested our fire alarms a few times which caused unnecessary response and disturbance.”

“However, other reports of violence at this site are not accurate and we caution those who don’t know the facts from sharing rumors that could cause an unfortunate portrayal of the families we are caring for in our community,” the statement continues. “The families here are in need of our help, not condemnation. We consider these families people not problems.”

The site is supported by a $5 million grant program launched in the fall by the Healey administration and United Way of Massachusetts Bay in response to a crush of migrants seeking shelter and straining the state’s emergency assistance program.

It is expected to operate through May, Fuller said.

Eight safety-net shelters, capable of serving 97 families per night, have launched under the grant program, United Way spokeswoman Brigid Boyd told State House News Service. The sites are located in Worcester and Hampden counties, as well as Greater Boston, Boyd said.

The program has allocated $3 million so far, she said.

Catholic Charities received the program’s first grant in November and said its shelter would be situated in Greater Boston.

“The family shelter that had operated in this location for decades had also been operated as an undisclosed location,” Fuller wrote in her update. “Until the release today by Our Lady’s and Catholic Charities, we honored their request.”

“Please be assured that we have been in close contact with Catholic Charities and Our Lady’s on the ongoing operation of the shelter,” she added. “Our Police, Fire, Inspectional Services and Health & Human Services teams continue to be in communication with the shelter staff.”

Cardinal Sean O’Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston issued a letter in October calling on the Catholic community to help out as the state ran out of room for incoming migrants.

The letter laid out steps for parishes including getting a St. Vincent de Paul bin for donations and inviting donations of winter gear like coats and boots and basic necessities like diapers and toothbrushes.

O’Malley asked church leaders to “review this letter with your parish staff and prepare your parishioners to be ready and willing to assist.”

“In our time migrants and refugees are among the most vulnerable individuals and families in the United States,” the cardinal wrote in his letter. “It is my hope and desire that as a church we respond generously and effectively.”

Around the time O’Malley sent his letter, Catholic Charities received an urgent alert from Catholic Charities USA warning them to take steps to protect the safety of their teams and clients after a very disturbing online threat emerged, according to an agency spokesperson.

The spokesperson provided the Herald with an article from NewsWeek about how Stew Peters, a conservative commentator and radio host, slammed Catholic Charities USA for helping migrants while addressing the crisis during the Fall Freedom Fest in Florida.

“We need troops on the border that will shoot people that are trying to invade our country. That’d be a good first step.” Peters said. “But you know what a better second step would be? Shooting everyone involved with these fake charities.”

Children at the safety-net shelter at Our Lady’s in Newton are not enrolled in local schools as “this is a temporary shelter for them as they await placement in more permanent housing. The children range from 10 months up to 8 years old,” Catholic Charities and the parish wrote in its joint statement.

The statement ends with, “We hope that during this time of reflection and while you consider your Lenten commitments you may open your hearts to help those here who are seeking refuge and comfort.”

Herald wire services contributed to this report