Upping the ante for his 2014 Massachusetts Governor challengers, Don Berwick announced today how he plans on tackling homelessness should he be elected to succeed Deval Patrick. Berwick’s outline comes just one week after touring Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard to discuss healthcare, the environment, and sustainable energy.

The Berwick camp estimates that some “7,000 individuals and hundreds of children go without a place to stay on any given night in Boston alone,” a staggering and alarming number when one considers the countless resources, technology, and educational institutions that make Boston and Massachusetts as whole so great.

But socioeconomic disparity is, unfortunately, a reality that we all have to deal with and Berwick’s preliminary strategy is a four-pronged approach:

1.    Support the identification, within six months, of every homeless person in the state (using a common tracking system and assessment tool)

2.    House all of the state’s chronically homeless and homeless veterans within one year.

3.    Create the nation’s fastest housing process so that any newly identified homeless person is housed within 60 days.

4.    Pre-emptively identify individuals and families who are at risk for homelessness and intervene early.

“Even though Massachusetts is one of the wealthiest states in the country, homelessness still persists here,” said Berwick in a statement. “Almost ten percent of homeless individuals are veterans who have risked their lives in service. For the richest nation in the world to tolerate this is not just troubling; it is a disgrace.”

On the other end of the political spectrum, Republican candidate Charlie Baker also recently released his plans to combat homelessness in the Bay State and promised to make it a year-one priority.

Baker will put to the test all the experience and prowess he gained as “secretary of Health and Human Services in the Weld-Cellucci administration” to also reform housing services for those living on the streets, in vehicles, and in motels.

Fellow Contenders Juliette Kayyem, Martha Coakley, Evan Falchuk, Mark Fisher, Joe Avvellone, and Scott Lively have yet to formally announce any strategies to help the homeless, though most hope to kickstart their homelessness initiatives beginning with more useful benefits and services for veterans.

“Everyone deserves a home for the holidays,” continued Berwick. “Our state and our communities must act and, as Governor, I will see to it that we do.”