Ropes & Gray Team Secures Pro Bono Win in Massachusetts Supreme Court Ruling Expanding Access to Homeless Shelter

In The News
November 22, 2024

On November 21, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a consequential ruling in Garcia v. Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, removing an administrative barrier for local homeless families seeking emergency shelter. A Ropes & Gray pro bono team, in collaboration with Greater Boston Legal Services, secured this favorable ruling, which prohibits the state housing agency from requiring families to provide documents verifying their identities and relationships at the start of the application process.

In an article for The Boston Globe, litigation & enforcement partner and counsel to the plaintiffs Kathryn Caldwell commented on the broader implications of the ruling, noting that the decision ensures homeless families won’t be denied a place to sleep because they can’t immediately provide documentation. "There are lots of good reasons why a family that is experiencing a crisis, the upheaval of losing their home, might not have all their documents lined up," Kathryn said.

The Ropes & Gray team that led this work includes partners Anne Johnson Palmer, Kathryn Caldwell, and Greg Demers, and associates Elena Davis, Renee Whyte, Jesse Coulon, Amanda Pine, Meredith Cox, Rory Brown, and Dalton Busch.