MSPCA-Angell's Mission: Secure Forever Homes for Pets and Their Humans

When you think of housing policy, you may not immediately think of furry friends. However, MSPCA-Angell in Jamaica Plain says our pets need to be kept in mind when it comes to the ongoing housing crisis. They've brought on a new housing specialist, Jamie Blackburn, to advocate for pet owners and find a way to keep them, and their beloved pets, together without fear of eviction or foreclosure. Jamie joins Nichole this week to talk about their mission and efforts.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England
Weekend where each week right here we come together we
talk about all the topics important to you and the
place where you live. Thanks for joining us again this week.
I'm Nicole Davis. Now, when you hear the phrase housing policy,
you're probably not immediately thinking about cats and fish and
guinea pigs, but that is actually what the MSPCA Angel

(00:29):
wants you to think about. See back in September, they
expanded their team to bring on Jamie Blackburn. She's a
housing policy specialist and she has one mission advocate for
pet owners and find a way to keep them and
their animals in their homes. Let's learn more about this
now Jamie is here on the show. It's great to
have you with us. I guess to start tell us
a bit more about the goal here and why this

(00:50):
is so important to you all.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
It's a new position for MSDCA Angel. Actually it's not
exactly intuitive. You don't always think of housing as something
that animal welfare organizations will need to be involved in.
But quite frankly, they've been seeing a lot of new data,
new information coming into the shelter that's showing, you know,
a lot of evidence around animals being newly abandoned because

(01:15):
of the housing issues pressing on their owners. So not
only is that a new, you know, data point that
we are seeing, we're also struggling to keep fully staffed
at the level that we'd like to see at MSPCA
angel to provide the highest quality veterinary care in the country.
And so housing is actually impacting our ability to recruit

(01:36):
the staffing that we need, but also to be able
to provide homes the animals that are coming into our
shelter and prevent families from being separated unnecessarily because of
housing pressures.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
That is a lot to work on all at once,
And I mean, how is it impacting MSPCA angels specifically
at this point? How many cats and dogs and other
animals are you seeing come in because of this?

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Oh my gosh, you've seen a dramatic increase actually in
the number of animals that have come in over the
last three years. We did a day to look back
and what we've seen is that a huge percentage of
these animals are coming because of housing pressure. So these
are animals that would otherwise have been able to stay
in a very wanted home but otherwise have to be

(02:23):
unfortunately surrendered into our care. And so this has been
something we've seen across the board. It's happening around the country,
not just in Massachusetts, but MSPCA Angel provides the largest
amount of shelter services for animals in New England. So
this is something that we're seeing rise dramatically over the
last three years, which was the catalyst for creating this position.

(02:45):
And we're very grateful to a very special donor who
made this possible because it's such an upstream need around
our mission and.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
I can't imagine it's good for the animal either. You know,
you have a loving family like you just mentioned, and
the owner is happy, the pet is happy, all of
a sudden they have to make this horrendous choice my
roof over my head or my beloved member of my family.
Talk to us about the mental impact this can have
and the physical impact that can have on not just

(03:17):
the animals, but families overall.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
It's If you speak to folks in the shelter, they
will tell you that these our gut wrenching scenes that
they are dealing with on a regular basis. Families are
coming in. They often have received a thirty day notice
that they either have to give up one of their animals,
perhaps they're not in compliance because they have more than one,
or that on. Another example of something we've heard pretty

(03:42):
frequently or we should have a lot of calls about,
is folks who have been long term tenants with pets
in their buildings, sometimes as long as ten fifteen years,
and their building is sold and their new property management,
their new landlord is unwilling to entertain a pet policy
and they have thirty to leave, and so we see

(04:03):
families have to make that gut wrenching decision to abandon
their to surrender their pet into our care, or on
the flip side, we see folks choosing to remain homeless
or enter homelessness in order to not be separated from
their pet.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
Wow, I mean that connection is very strong. Obviously, you
don't ever want to leave your pet. People do everything
they can to protect them during storms and during emergencies.
I would imagine this is right up there with them.
What can you do then to try and get ahead
of a situation like this, because this seems systemic to me?
What could you possibly do to try to fix this

(04:41):
on the local and maybe the statewide level.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
It is systemic, and this is why the MSCCA is
jumping in at this time. You know, Massachusetts has taken
really bold and historic steps to address the housing crisis.
I think folks are generally aware of how expensive and
how competitive the housing mart has become in Massachusetts, and
so we are lucky that we are launching this effort

(05:06):
at the same time that the legislature, the governor, and
stakeholders around the state have really recognized that housing is
a critical issue. I always say that all roads lead
to housing, right, it doesn't matter which issue we ultimately
are zooming in on. Housing is the common thread that
we've through through all of them. And so really what

(05:27):
we're trying to do is to create more PET inclusive.

Speaker 3 (05:31):
Housing in Massachusetts. So what does that mean. That means housing.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
That has that has free from reed restrictions, weight restrictions,
unreasonable fees, other barriers that really make it difficult for
folks to find housing. What we know is that less
than around seven percent of rental housing in Massachusetts. Only
seven percent of rental housing is actually truly PET inclusive.

(05:56):
So if folks really ask themselves, if I had to
find new housing in thirty days. How confident am I
that I could find a rental unit that would take
me and my seventy pound job.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
Or just a reunit. In general, at this point out
of the city of Boston, I think they're at ninety
nine percent occupancy. There is no room to move here.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
No, And so our main strategy focuses around building on
the success of the investments and the legislation that has
already been passed, the Affordable Homes Act, the Statewide Comprehensive
Plan for Housing.

Speaker 3 (06:32):
These are really bold and historic steps, and our.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
Message is Massachusetts has some of the highest rates of
pet ownership in the country, with the tightest within the
tightest and most competitive housing market. So in order to
address this, if we really want to move the needle
on improving conditions and allowing folks to be able to
find and afford housing, we cannot overlook the barriers that

(06:58):
lack of pet inclusivity is causing around affordability and access
for housing in general, because ultimately the problem doesn't go
away right. These animals end up in the custody of
the MSPCA and our partners, and then that prevents us
from being able to accept additional animals from outside of

(07:18):
our jurisdiction, other states that are dealing with overcrowding and
we cannot move these animals through our shelter. We've spent
over the last three years, the MSPCA spent almost a
million dollars collectively in caring for animals that would otherwise
be kept in their homes. And that's money that we
can use to really care for animals that are coming

(07:39):
in from out of state that really need our help.
And so this is something that we care deeply about.
We want to find solutions that are upstream, and so
we want to partner. We want to partner with the
Executive Office of Housing. We want to partner with the
housing sector to recognize that set inclusivity is good for
the entire commonwealth.

Speaker 1 (08:00):
Would you say to a landlord then, who says, well,
I mean, I feel for these people, but pets tear
up my house or you know, cat's pee on the rug,
or they tear up the housing. However, they would argue
about that. I'm not a landlord. I don't know firsthand,
but you know, what would you say to landlords and
homeowners who might push back a little bit about this
and say, being pet inclusive would ruin my investment. How

(08:24):
do you respond to that.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
You know, that's a common that's a common argument that
we hear. But you know, statistically, what we know across
housing is that actually, you know, children are often more
likely to cause damage to a unit human children as
opposed to as opposed to pets. It's a common it's
a common misconception that when we when we really dig in,
the data doesn't doesn't always support that. I think what

(08:47):
we do want to do is create an environment where
folks could be held to a certain standard. Being pet
inclusive does not mean there are no standards associated with
keeping those pets, and it does not mean that property
managed and property managers and landlords will not have tools
at their disposal to be able to address it. In fact,

(09:07):
we also find on sort of more of the for
profit end of housing on the open market, so not
subsidized housing, that we find that those units tend to
lease up faster and stay leased longer, creating higher profit
margins for those companies. There's a lot of emerging research
across the country to show that that as actually can

(09:31):
be profitable for larger portfolio holders. When it comes to
opening up to being more pet inclusive. Certainly, we know
in Massachusetts that folks of a certain age range, particularly
young professionals, people of millennial generation, are being increasingly shut
out of home ownership. They are also increasing the rates

(09:52):
of have the highest rates of pet ownership in the state.
And as they are unable to become home homeowners, they're
turning to the run market. And the market needs to
respond to the to the demands from from consumers, and
that is for pet inclusive housing.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
What kind of a response to you getting right now
from Beacon Hill and otherwise when you bring these arguments
and these facts up to them when it comes to
pet inclusive housing.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
We have received some support for these issues. I think
it's really important to outline that this is really an
extension of the work that's already been done, already been
launched and spearheaded and championed by some really great folks
on Beacon Hill, including Governor Haaey.

Speaker 3 (10:34):
You know that a tackling housing is.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
A major major issue, and you know, if we're serious
about advancing those priorities in the statewide plan, making it
easier and more affordable to find housing, improving equity, reducing fees, creating.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
A robust workforce.

Speaker 2 (10:50):
All of these things tie back to to what we
are you know, the issues that we're talking about. Let's
not leave behind pet families that are increasingly coming a
larger and larger portion of the of renters, of the
renter population in Massachusetts. And if we're serious about tackling
housing as a broad marquee issue in Massachusetts, that it is,

(11:13):
we cannot overlook the impact that these barriers have on
those larger objectives.

Speaker 1 (11:19):
And I want to make it clear, this is not
just about housing in Boston. This is about all of Massachusetts.
Because yes, MSPCA angel is in Jamaica plane, but you've
also got facilities around most of eastern mass So this
is I'm assuming, not just a greater Boston movement here.

Speaker 3 (11:34):
No, it is not.

Speaker 2 (11:35):
This is this is a statewide effort, statewide campaign. You know,
state wide, Massachusetts has around a three point three percent,
three point two percent rental vacancy rate, which is extremely
extremely low. We really want to see something up over
five percent vacancy rates and what we would describe as
a healthy housing market. So not surprising to anyone, uh,

(11:57):
Massachusetts as a whole is also the effects of that
tight competitive housing market. So this is something that entirely
affects the commonwealth. Now when we talk about the City
of Boston, ms MSPCA Angel has a tougher time when
it comes to workforce housing. And that's really where we
see this issue cutting across all of the lines of
our of our mission. And you know, we maintain one

(12:18):
of the top best equipped veterinary hospitals in the country.
But in order for us to continue serving our clients
at the level that we have always been, we want
to recruit and retain the best workforce that we can
and increasingly that is getting more and more difficult to
do because of the housing pressures. So whether we're talking

(12:39):
about strengthening our workforce and this is this is something
that we see cutting across all sectors, not just animal welfare,
but human healthcare as well is seeing the same squeeze
when it comes to promoting a healthy a healthy workforce.
So this is an issue that cuts across and we
feel it's just so important to tackle and if we
want to be as a impactful we have to look

(13:01):
at this this area as well.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
Well, let's talk about the work you're doing on Beacon Hill.
You've got a couple of bills going one, five, five,
nine and Senate Bill ten twenty two. Talk to me
about what exactly if these bills are passed, what you're
asking for here as part of this agenda.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yes, so we have a pretty robust legislative agenda. And
as I said, these really tracked with the affordable the
AHAV Affordable Homes Act that was passed last year, and
it really is just filling in some of the gaps
that maybe folks hadn't really thought of when we're talking
about pet inclusivity and the impact of these barriers on
some of these really big priorities.

Speaker 3 (13:37):
So this, uh so, this legislation would.

Speaker 2 (13:39):
Make it easier for residents of the Commonwealth to find
and apply for rental housing by removing breed restrictions, weight restrictions.
It puts caps on pet rent fees, placing them at
a reasonable amount and not placing undue burdens. And it

(14:00):
continues to support other aspects of the AGA as well
about advancing equity and fair housing, preventing evictions, and creating
that competitive workforce environment. So really it's all about trying
to improve housing, housing choice, housing choice. So while this
current legislation is really focused a bit more on state

(14:20):
aided public housing. We are also seeking to remove breed
and weight restrictions in HOA housing as well.

Speaker 1 (14:29):
All right, good to know. Well, if somebody is interested
in helping out, If people want to find out more
about your agenda about this problem and what they can
maybe do to assist, where can they get more information?

Speaker 3 (14:40):
Great question.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
MSPCA dot org. Slash Housing if you want to learn
more about this issue, has a great summary of what
we're seeking to do with this campaign, our Action for
pet Inclusive Housing. It's all about keeping families together in
the Commonwealth and making it easier for folks to find
housing that will take every member of their family, including
four leg it once.

Speaker 1 (15:01):
Jamie Blackburn from MSPA angel a lot of great information here.
Thank you for the education and thanks for the time.

Speaker 3 (15:07):
Thank you so much, Nichole.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.