Where Is All The Tax Money Going?

With all the taxes we pay the government, why are there still tons of homeless people with no home to live in? In traveling the city, I notice a lot of vacant buildings that can be used as apartments. I see my tax money go to construction and casinos when really the best place to invest is try to decrease the population of homeless by building affordable housing.

I’m a mother of 4 children and I live in a scattered site shelter - which I am grateful for - but in the meantime, it’s not a permanent place to live. All day long I look for apartments, but I don’t find any that I can afford. Massachusetts should spend our money building more houses so low-income and homeless families will have a better chance of finding a permanent home.
   
Yours truly,
Y. A. H.

Comments

[Jane Titus]

The state of Massachusetts plans to start a new program sometime this year to help families now living in shelters to get into housing sooner. This will involve taking some of the tax money that now pays for shelter and using it to subsidize apartments, and at the same time providing services to families in new housing so that they can move toward self sufficiency.

This is a five year project and everyone cannot be assisted by this new program right away, but it indicates that the state is trying to target it's money better to help families like yours.

Crittenton Women's Union is preparing to be part of this new initiative so families in our shelter programs will know about it as soon as it starts.

Jane

[Ruthie]

Dear Y.A.H.,
You are right that the state should re-think how it spends its money. I was shocked to learn that it costs more than $40,000 per year to house a family in shelter. Imagine what a family like yours could do with $1,000-2,000 per month in rental assistance? This would cost a lot less than shelter.

If you are interested in joining with other homeless families to meet with your elected representatives to share your thoughts on how the state could better help homeless families, please email me at rliberman@liveworkthrive.org. We are participated in a statewide lobby day in February.