Homelessness & shelter
Shelter, transitional housing and basic services for people experiencing homelessness.
Residents consistently ask for more shelter beds, day centers with hygiene and food, and housing with support for youth and people with addiction.
Theme grouped and summary written with AI from this theme's resident ideas.
117 ideas across three cycles
| Cycle | Ideas | Share of all ideas | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 48 | 3.9% | 14 of 20 |
| 2025–26 | 36 | 3.0% | 15 of 20 |
| 2026–27 | 33 | 2.5% | 17 of 20 |
Needs that keep coming back
More shelters and shelter beds
Residents in every cycle ask for more places to sleep indoors, including overnight, winter and neighborhood-based shelters.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Day centers and hygiene services
Residents ask for walk-in spaces with showers, restrooms, laundry, health services and links to other help, including in Allston/Brighton and near Mass and Cass.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Food and meals
Residents repeatedly ask for meals, food banks or food programs for people experiencing homelessness, alone or alongside shelter.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Housing with addiction support
Residents ask for housing, transitional housing or rehab-linked shelter for people who are homeless and struggling with addiction.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26
Housing for homeless youth
Residents ask for supportive or transitional housing and shelter beds for youth and young adults who are homeless or aging out of care.
Raised in 2024–25, 2026–27
2024–25
Youth and family housing dominated, often paired with calls to spend the full $5 million, alongside ideas for converting vacant buildings and building tiny homes.
2025–26
Residents emphasized overnight shelters with food and hygiene supplies, and several raised safety concerns about street homelessness and addiction, with some proposing day centers instead of enforcement.
2026–27
Ideas were fewer and shorter, centered on more shelter beds, meals, outreach and service centers, with some specific asks for young adult beds and shelter grants.
New in 2026–27
New or more specific asks include funding existing shelters' daily needs, grants for shelter beds and renovations, heating and cooling centers, mobile outreach workers, a permanent soup kitchen in East Boston and bank accounts for people who are homeless.
Funding so far
The funded Bridging the Gap housing assistance pool addresses housing stability, but no winning project yet covers recurring asks for more shelter beds, day centers with hygiene services, meals, addiction-linked housing or youth-specific housing.
Projects are linked to themes by matching each project's description to the themes; this is not an official City classification.
Bridging the Gap: Assistance for Housing Stability
2025–26 · $200,000
This proposal establishes a flexible funding pool to help Boston residents at risk of or experiencing homelessness to secure or maintain housing.
Departments that often lead this work
- Mayor's Office of Housing
- Boston Public Health Commission
Suggested with AI; not an official assignment of responsibility.
Ideas in Homelessness & shelter
117 ideas
2024–25: 48 · 2025–26: 36 · 2026–27: 33
- More homeless shelters and job resourcesThe resident asks for more shelters for people experiencing homelessness and investment in job resources to help people move out of poverty and meet basic needs.2026–27City-wide
- Help for homeless peopleThe resident names people experiencing homelessness as a concern without giving a specific request.2026–27City-wide
- More funding for homeless sheltersResident asks for more funding for homeless shelters.2026–27City-wide
- More community resources: food, clothes, haircuts, senior programsResident asks for more community resources including food, clothing, haircuts, homelessness prevention and senior programs to help families in need.2026–27City-wide
- Help for people experiencing homelessnessThe resident asks for help for people without homes, specifically by providing care centers.2026–27City-wide
- Supported temporary housing for youth aging outResident asks for staffed temporary housing for young people who are put out of their homes at 18, with counseling, education and job training.2026–27City-wide
- Transitional housing to reduce street homelessness and drug useResident asks for transitional housing to reduce the number of homeless people and drug users on the street and help restore community parks.2026–27City-wide
- Promote places like Torchlight to help people off streetsResident asks the city to support more places like Torchlight to get people off the streets, linking street conditions to rodents, drug use and homelessness.2026–27City-wide
- Address homelessness around BostonThe resident raises homelessness in Boston as an issue to address, saying it supports social and racial equity, without specifying a solution.2026–27Downtown
- Housing and starter city jobs for homeless peopleThe resident proposes a start-up housing program or office that moves homeless people into housing and starter jobs in local government, to advance housing, economic and racial equity.2026–27City-wide
- Safe place and food for people in needThe resident proposes providing a safe place for people experiencing homelessness and food for those in need, to help the whole community.2026–27City-wide
- More funding and resources for homeless residentsResident asks the City to fund and create more resources for people experiencing homelessness, to protect and help the most vulnerable.2026–27City-wide
- Address homelessness, prison reform and elder supportThe resident asks for action against homelessness, prison reform and support for the elderly.2026–27City-wide
- Sleeping pods, veteran shelters and food programsResident asks for free sleeping pods for people experiencing homelessness, more shelters for homeless veterans, and food programs for disadvantaged residents.2025–26City-wide
- Convert vacant hotel near Mass Ave into housingResident asks to renovate a large empty hotel near Massachusetts Avenue to house homeless people without restrictive evictions, to advance equity.2025–26City-wide
- Shelters, resource guidance and patrols for Chinatown homelessnessResident is concerned about many homeless people in Chinatown and asks for more shelters or resource guidance and stronger patrols to protect residents.2025–26ChinatownSubmitted in Chinese
- Help homeless residents get housingThe resident asks for help getting homeless people into homes and for more affordable rent, especially for minority residents.2025–26City-wide
- Help homeless residents and create safe spacesResident asks for help for people experiencing homelessness and for a safe space for everyone.2025–26Dorchester
- Serve food to people experiencing homelessnessResident asks for food to be served to people experiencing homelessness.2025–26City-wide
- Resources for people experiencing homelessnessResident asks for more resources for people experiencing homelessness.2025–26City-wide