There are no more hotels in West Springfield used for homeless families.
The state Department of Housing and Community Development is about halfway toward its goal of ending the widespread practice of placing homeless families in hotels.
Aaron Gornstein, undersecretary of the department, announced Monday that the number of families being housed in hotels in Western Massachusetts had dropped from 513 in July 2012 to 255 as of Friday. The decrease includes eliminating the use of all hotels in West Springfield and emptying the Days Inn in Holyoke, which had 50 homeless families living there in July.
“We think there is significant savings and it is better for the families,” he said.
It costs about $3,000 a month to rent a hotel room for a homeless family. Conversely it can cost between $600 to $800 to pay rent for an apartment and that family pays 30 percent of their income toward rent. They do not pay a contribution toward a hotel, he said.
"Most are relocating around here, where they are from," he said.
The Department of Housing has started to focus on removing families from specific hotels, based on the availability of affordable housing and homeless shelters beds in that city. Hotels which have had more public safety issues were also selected, he said.
Now there are 114 homeless families living in three hotels in Chicopee, down from 170; 11 living in two Greenfield hotels, down from 37; 87 living in two Holyoke hotels down from 153 in three hotels and 44 living in Springfield hotels, a reduction of one family.
It is now working on emptying families from the Quality Inn in Greenfield. In July there were seven families staying there and now there are two.
Monday, Gornstein also visited Easthampton and discuss an initiative that will add 50 units of affordable housing to the downtown area. He also met with Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse to discuss the decrease in the number of families in city hotels.
The majority of homeless families continue to be headed by single parents, a number of whom are victims of domestic assault. There is also a growing number of young parents, who under 25, and have limited education and work history staying in hotels, he said.
“The average length of stay is eight months and that is a long time,” Gornstein said. “There is a significant percentage of families that are staying in a hotel for a year.”
The Department of Housing has been able to reduce the number of homeless living in hotels in part because a of an $8 million increase in state assistance for apartment subsidies. The creation of the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program, helps families who are behind in rent or utilities, either find a new apartment or pay their debts so they are not evicted.
In addition the department is continuing to work with a variety of other social service agencies to help clients with job training and education to services for veterans and the elderly, he said.
In this year’s budget it is working with the governor to create a $20 million trust fund that would allow the department to invest money in a specific need such as disaster relief if affordable housing is damaged or to create more affordable housing. Under the proposal, the department would be able to keep and deposit any savings it makes in moving families from hotels into the fund, he said.
Even with the reductions, Gornstein said the demand for affordable housing is growing and there is a long waiting list for people who are trying to enter public housing.