Healey changes shelter rules, prioritizes veterans, people who lost home to disaster [Video]

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

Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday announced a dramatic overhaul after more than a year of sustained pressure on the emergency assistance shelter system, in effect moving further away from the so-called right-to-shelter law that once guaranteed all eligible homeless families access to somewhere to stay with few restrictions.

Starting Aug. 1, the state will prioritize for placement in emergency assistance shelters families who are homeless because of a no-fault eviction, who have at least one member who is a veteran, or who are homeless “because of sudden or unusual circumstances in Massachusetts beyond their control, such as a flood or fire,” Healey’s office said.

The administration, at the same time, …