Boston, MA – January 31: Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey pauses to look at the Army cots set up on the gym floor as State and local officials toured the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex. The facility will house over 300 migrants. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The state of Massachusetts is working to open a new shelter to house the overflow of migrants coming to the area in Boston's Fort Point neighborhood.
It's a decision that seems to be dividing the community.
"I don't like it. They're giving them all these benefits and people here are homeless and need jobs and they're not getting nothing," one resident said.
Sarah Boland, another resident, is OK with the decision to open a new shelter in Fort Point.
"I think there are people who have their reasons why, but it's also kind of opening your mind and your community is always a good thing to do," she said.
The housing of migrants is continuing to cause controversy in the state.
The latest focal point is Farnsworth Street in Fort Point. It's a site Gov. Maura Healey has been eyeing, working with nonprofits in the affluent Boston neighborhood to shelter migrant families and pregnant women.
"This is a United Way site, which we support because we continue to need to find safe housing for people," Healey said.
The building belongs to the Unitarian Universalist Association, which is working with the United Way and the state to house the overflow of migrants who need a place to spend the nights.
This comes after the state -- the only one in the country with a right-to-shelter law -- reached shelter capacity in November with 7,500 families.
But how soon will the new shelter open?
"As soon as possible," Healey said. "I just don't know how long it's going to take to get everything operationalized and work things out with the community, work things out with the city."
That's where some Fort Point residents have an issue with the governor. While some residents NBC10 Boston spoke with don't mind the move, others who have reservations complain that they haven't been consulted.
"It just seems like people are being thrown into a building with no regard for the safety," Francesca Tesone said. "We know nothing about the background, about the medical history, and it just seems dangerous, especially given how many kids are here."
But Chrystyn MacDougall said she supports housing migrants in Fort Point.
"I think you find needy people everywhere, right? Nobody wants anything in their backyard. But it's kind of a humanitarian crisis right now in our city, so I think we need to do what we can."
The United Way said it will be meeting with community members on Tuesday night in the building, where they will share details of their plan while also giving residents a chance to weigh in.
