Cape Cod

Temporary Cape Cod shelters already nearing capacity

Fifty-three families, comprising 179 individuals, were living in townhouses at JBCC as of Thursday, a spokesperson for Gov. Maura Healey told the News Service.

Martha’s Vineyard, MA – September 15: A mother and child spent some time outside the St. Andrew’s Parrish House where migrants were being fed lunch with donated food from the community. Two planes of migrants from Venezuela arrived suddenly Wednesday night on Martha’s Vineyard. (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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Days after the state started using Joint Base Cape Cod as a temporary shelter for families experiencing homelessness, especially immigrants, the space appears to be reaching capacity.

Fifty-three families, comprising 179 individuals, were living in townhouses at JBCC as of Thursday, a spokesperson for Gov. Maura Healey told the News Service.

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The facility was able to accommodate 16 families last Friday, with the ability to scale up to 60 families, Healey's office said last week.. Officials are referring families to JBCC after they seek access to basic resources -- including food, transportation and housing -- at a "Family Welcome Center" that opened last week at the Brazilian Worker Center in Allston.

The welcome center so far has helped 240 people, which includes 58 families, the Healey spokesperson said. It's open from 4-8 p.m. on weekdays and 12-7 p.m. on weekends. State officials plan to open additional welcome centers across the state in the "near future" but has yet to release more information.

"Over the past year, we've seen a steady rise in shelter demand due to the rising cost of housing, more families arriving in our nation and our state from other countries, and delayed federal work authorizations," Healey said in a statement last week. "Our administration has been working hard to meet this unprecedented need and use every resource at our disposal to help families."

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