A shelter for homeless families was originally scheduled to open in West Roxbury in July, and work to prepare the site began months ago. As the month ends, though, there’s no sign of progress at the site, 5 Redlands Road, which now appears to be mired in an obscure zoning issue with the city.
It’s a sad reality that almost no community welcomes a homeless shelter, and Boston is no different. But Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration should find a way to let the facility open. Not only would the plan put a roof over the heads of needy families, but it could also end up helping the city reduce its school busing costs.
Under the proposal, a state contractor, Making Opportunity Count, would reuse a vacant former nursing home to house up to 48 homeless families, with a preference for families from Boston.
The units are badly needed. The state’s family shelter system has been overwhelmed in recent years, after an influx of foreign migrants added strain to a system already struggling to meet the needs of Massachusetts residents. The state housed many families in hotels, which are expensive, unsuitable for families, and sometimes lacking in safety; moving those families to shelters like the one proposed in West Roxbury is far preferable.
Family shelters do not carry the same baggage many people associate with overnight shelters, drug rehabilitation centers, or methadone clinics — although Boston needs those, too. The West Roxbury site will house parents and children as they search for stable, long-term housing. All adult clients will undergo background checks. The facility will have 24/7 security personnel. Kids staying at the shelter will walk to an existing bus stop, so buses won’t clog the residential, one-way street. The building’s use as a nursing home for more than 30 years makes it a good site for a congregate shelter.
But that has done little to blunt pushback from immediate neighbors. They have launched a website, canvassed the neighborhood, and hired legal counsel to comb through zoning codes, looking for violations.
In recent weeks, the shelter received a refusal letter from the zoning board regarding the conditional usage of its first floor. The developer filed, and then withdrew, a request for a variance; a spokesperson for the group told the Globe it had no recent updates to report. The issue won’t necessarily derail the project, but it may add unnecessary delays and require changing the use of space and reducing the number of families who could live there.
That would be a shame. The need for more Boston shelters is immediate and pressing, and the cost savings to taxpayers if homeless kids from Boston are able to stay in Boston instead of being bused from far away will be significant. Hotel shelters are, by far, the most expensive way to keep families off the streets. Boston Public Schools, which counted the all-time highest number of homeless students last year, has faced ballooning transportation costs as it buses students from shelters outside the city.
If neighbors don’t believe the messaging from the shelter operator or the state, they should at least believe the neighbors of similar facilities. Residents who lived near what had been a family hotel shelter in Watertown were generally surprised to hear what the space had been used for when approached by an editorial board member. Others had noticed vans picking up kids but not much else.
The people who will benefit from this shelter are parents and children who are fleeing domestic abuse, facing medical or natural disaster emergencies, or unable to afford rent after a job loss. Compared to these life-altering events, arguments about property values, parking, or zoning technicalities should not win the day.
Mayor Wu could tip the scales in favor of the shelter via the zoning board. She may be wary to draw the ire of West Roxbury residents in an election year, but she has also made housing the homeless a priority of her administration and campaign. This is a chance to make good on her promise, even if it rankles the shelter’s neighbors.
Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us @GlobeOpinion.