POR 2025-50
Continued funding of the Transitional Wellness Center
POR 2025 #50 by striking the words “and the Finance Committee of the City Council be” from the first “Ordered” and creating a second “Ordered” to read “That the City Council forward this policy order to the Finance Committee to consider the TWC in the FY26 budget.”The clerk's words, from the minutes of Apr 14, 2025, p. 15.
Vice Mayor McGovern made a motion to reconsider the vote to adopt POR 2025 #50, as amendedThe clerk's words, from the minutes of Apr 14, 2025.
View the roll call on the amendment
Voted no (9)
Burhan Azeem
Marc McGovern
Patty Nolan
Sumbul Siddiqui
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
Paul F. Toner
Ayesha M. Wilson
Cathie Zusy
E. Denise Simmons
View the roll call
Voted yes (5)
- Burhan Azeem
- Marc McGovern
- Sumbul Siddiqui
- Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler
- Ayesha M. Wilson
Voted no (4)
- Patty Nolan
- Paul F. Toner
- Cathie Zusy
- E. Denise Simmons
O-2
During the COVID pandemic, the City opened the Transitional Wellness Center
(TWC) at Spaulding Hospital on Cambridge Street as a temporary shelter to address the loss of shelter beds in other Cambridge based shelters; and
The TWC was funded through ARPA funds with a budget of $3 million per year; and
As ARPA funds are expiring, City Manager Huang has announced that the City will not fund the 58-bed Transitional Wellness Center beyond June 2025; and
Although the city has made bold investments in permanent supportive housing options including at 116 Norfolk St and on Wendell St, a range of options to address homelessness are sorely needed, and the creation of new permanent supportive housing should not lead to the closure of a non-congregate shelter facility; and
Numerous studies have shown the huge importance of non-congregate shelter options; and
Cambridge’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Homelessness stressed the importance of non-congregate shelter options; and
The TWC has been a largely successful model for non-congregate shelter, filling a gap and offering increased privacy, stability, and dignity—particularly for individuals who are underserved in traditional congregate settings, including LGBTQ+ residents and others who may not feel safe or welcome at facilities like 240 Albany Street; and
Finding a way to keep the TWC open beyond June 2025 is highly consistent with Cambridge’s self-proclaimed status as a sanctuary city for marginalized communities; now therefore be it
ORDERED: That the City Manager and the Finance Committee of the City Council be and hereby are requested to explore options for continuing TWC funding, including, but not limited to: -The cost of continuing this program for another year through the city budget/Free Cash -The possibility of securing state funding -The possibility of committing funds from the Affordable Housing Trust -The possibility of partnering with outside stakeholders such as biotech companies to ease the funding burden on the city
Public Comment (5)
5 written comments received (2025-04-14 – 2025-04-28). Letter-writers are named in the city's own agenda and are not republished here, by policy.