BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $11.8 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse the state for the cost of sheltering vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $11,835,601 Public Assistance grant will go to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) for operating nine regional non-congregate facilities for low income and homeless populations who tested positive for COVID-19 and/or presented mild symptoms between March and September 2020, including:
- 136 rooms at Aloft Hotels in Lexington;
- 101 rooms at EnVision in Everett;
- 95 rooms at Hilton Garden in Pittsfield;
- 155 rooms at Holiday Inn in Taunton;
- 63 rooms at Quality Inn & Suites in Northampton;
- 114 rooms at Quality Inn in Worcester;
- 329 rooms at Quality Inn in Revere;
- 98 rooms at Holiday Inn in Springfield; and
- 121 rooms at Freepoint Hotel in Cambridge
MEMA also provided meals, paper goods, toiletries, and medical supplies at these nine non-congregate facilities.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the pandemic fight is critical to their success, and our success as a nation.”
FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
So far, FEMA has provided more than $947 million in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.
Additional information about FEMA’s Public Assistance program is available at https://www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit. To learn more about the COVID-19 response in Massachusetts, please visit https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4496