BOSTON– At a Dorchester homeless transitional shelter Friday at noon, Ayesha Kazmi puts the last few touches on the application of a homeless woman to move into permanent affordable housing – the fourth resident this year.
Kazmi is the director of the city’s first Muslim-run shelter, Amal Women’s Transitional Housing, the only shelter that allows homeless women and children to stay for six to 12 months, a model that allows people to break the cycle of homelessness, she said.
“We have what we feel is a really successful program and that’s how we do things differently here,” said Kazmi in an interview on April 5. “We want to make sure that people find that stable ground to be able to move out.”
The Amal shelter, which opened in March 2017, serves women and children for six to 12 months. Most shelters in Boston allow individuals to stay for shorter periods of time, typically up to three weeks, or they use a lottery system to gain a bed.
Massachusetts had the highest increase in homelessness between 2017 and 2018 in the U.S., according to a 2018 report to Congress by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Local advocates attribute this to the increase of rent in Boston, which makes it difficult for people to afford permanent homes.
“You officially have to be rich to rent in Boston,” read a tweet this week from Friends of Boston’s Homeless, a Boston nonprofit advocacy organization. “Please advocate for affordable housing in your community. Some day you'll probably need it.”
Amal’s employees create goals for residents to find jobs or apply for affordable housing, which can take time.
After years of living on the streets, homeless people experience insecurity that remains with them.
“Our clients go from ecstatic when they become placed, to being in a state of anxiety on a day-to-day basis,” said Kazmi.
Boston has the third most expensive rent in the U.S. in 2019, according to Friends of Boston’s Homeless.
Homeless people looking for affordable housing in Boston can choose from subsidized, income-restricted and voucher housing.
About 9 percent of Boston’s residents live in housing supported by the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), Massachusetts’ public housing agency, according to the BHA.
The voucher program, where residents pay 30 percent of their income while the BHA pays the remaining rent to the landlord, is currently closed to new applicants, except for veterans.
The waiting time for an affordable home – often years long – means homeless people need more time at shelters, according to the BHA.
Amal’s residents go through a two-part screening process consisting of an application and interview to begin their housing process.
Rosie’s Place is among the shelters that limit homeless women’s stays to three weeks, and they must wait two weeks to reapply for one of 20 beds through a lottery system.
“Because we are a three-week stay, they have to utilize some of the other shelters in the area,” said Megan Crawford, a Rosie’s Place advocate, in an interview on April 3.
Shelters such as Rosie’s Place face over-crowdedness, increasing drug use and violence, said Crawford.
“There’s an increasing drug use that we’re seeing pour into the shelters,” said Crawford. “Not everyone makes it the whole three weeks because we don’t allow anyone to stay under the effects of drugs or alcohol, some women can’t adhere to that.”
Massachusetts has one of the lowest rates of unsheltered homeless people in the U.S., 4.9 percent of homeless are unsheltered, according to a 2018 report to Congress by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Amal’s employees host a housing clinic every two weeks to help residents apply for affordable housing, as well as mental health counseling.
“We want the women to reach self-sufficiency and to get back on their feet,” said Kadra Manif, 29, a volunteer at Amal, in an interview on March 25.
Homeless people must meet eligibility requirements for subsidized and income-restricted housing, including earning a salary below Boston’s median income; the percentage of median income varies by the number of family members and apartment size.
More than 75 percent of families selected for subsidized housing in Boston earn 30 percent or more of the area median income, which is $24,800, according to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the state housing agency running Section 8.
However, Boston’s income-restricted housing is not affordable to many homeless people, who make lower or no income.
“Getting homeless people back into the job market or for the first time, they’re not making nearly enough for housing,” said Kazmi.
On the other hand, Amal’s past residents include doctors and public school teachers who can’t afford Boston’s high rent but make too much to be eligible for public housing.
“Public school teachers … it’s criminal,” said Kazmi. “How is it possible that the city can’t even take care of its own?”
Public housing residents are required to pay 30 to 32 percent of their total income toward rent, according to the Boston Housing Authority.
Amal continues to support residents once they move into affordable housing, such as donating furniture, to find stability in a permanent home.
“Nice shelter or not, it is a really difficult place to be mentally and emotionally,” said Kazmi. “It’s so insecure.”