By Ethan Forman
DANVERS — With three Danvers motels housing approximately 10 percent of the homeless families who have sought emergency shelter statewide, the town has written Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray asking for help.
"I'm writing to you on behalf of the Board of Selectmen to request assistance for our town in coping with the significant cost and impact relating to the more than 100 homeless families who have been temporarily placed by state agencies in Danvers' motels," Town Manager Wayne Marquis said in his letter.
Murray serves as chairman of the state's Interagency Council on Homelessness, and Marquis' letter asked if Danvers can state its case for financial assistance at the council's next meeting.
Marquis handed the letter to Murray on Wednesday when he greeted him during a reception for the North Shore Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner outside the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Boston North Shore. Marquis said Murray promised to respond.
Selectmen talked about the influx of homeless families in motels during a meeting Tuesday with state Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers.
The strain on the town's budget has been most apparent within the schools, with 35 students attending Danvers schools and 42 going to schools where they once lived, with the town paying for the kids' rides. Costs for transportation and education through the end of the school year are projected at $440,000, if the students remain. Numbers of students can fluctuate daily.
An earlier request for help from the state was met with a box of 50 toothbrushes and some sundry personal items, Marquis told selectmen the other night.
"We've talked with Rep. Speliotis, Ted, about this in the last couple of days," Murray said.
He added the agency that oversees homelessness changed July 1 from the Department of Transitional Assistance to the Department of Housing and Community Development in an attempt to tackle the problem as a housing issue, instead of one of emergency shelter.
"Our system has been too reliant on hotel-motels" and shelters, Murray said. The priority is to move families into more permanent housing, and therefore reduce the strain on communities that happen to have motels.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or eforman@salemnews.com.
