Common Housing Application News Today

5 Investigates gathered information about the number of families on waitlists across the state and found how much money it would take to house people on the largest list in Boston

Families are stuck in shelters or sleeping in their cars while a flawed state selection process and meager funding for renovations leave apartments empty for years.

As Massachusetts grapples with a housing crisis, 184,000 people have applied for a home in the state's public housing system. Yet, units sit vacant for years because of the state's inefficient central waitlist and a lack of funding to repair aging properties.

Former Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus was sworn in on Thursday morning as the state's first Cabinet-level housing secretary in three decades, saying he is focused on increasing housing production, but staying mum on specific policies that housing advocates say are necessary.

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Former Worcester City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. was sworn in Thursday as the states first Cabinet-level housing secretary in three decades.

Ed Augustus said the administration will facilitate creating an inventory of unused state land that could be quickly turned around into new housing.

Before Annette M. Johnson, 63, moved into her one-bedroom apartment on Gifford Street on March 17, she had her name on 27 affordable housing lists across Massachusetts.