Certain families prioritized in new Healey shelter rules – Boston News, Weather, Sports [Video]

The Healey administration will implement another series of major changes to the state’s emergency shelter system starting next week, giving priority to certain Massachusetts families and setting a five-day cap on how long people can stay in overflow sites.

In a move that anti-homelessness advocates worry will increase the number of people with nowhere to safely sleep at night, Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday announced a dramatic overhaul that in effect moves further away from the so-called right to shelter law.

Administration officials did not explicitly say they were aiming to curtail shelter access for newly arriving migrants, but the combination of reforms is likely to put a greater emphasis on making services available for the thousands of Bay State families already here and struggling.

Starting Aug. 1, the state will prioritize placement in emergency assistance shelters for families who are homeless because of a no-fault eviction, who have at …