Bay State Correctional Center to serve as Mass. emergency shelter, officials say [Video]

Massachusetts state officials plan to use a former Norfolk prison as a temporary emergency shelter site for families experiencing homelessness as they attempt to deal with an overflowing shelter system, according to Gov. Maura Healey’s Office.

The site is expected to serve about 140 families on the state shelter system’s waitlist — many of whom are currently staying at Logan Airport each night, the office said in an email to MassLive. Over half the families receiving emergency shelter assistance are newly-arrived immigrants.

• Read more: How migrants sleeping at Logan Airport spend their days and nights

Bay State — a former minimum-security prison — was decommissioned in 2015, but the facility is still in good condition, Scott Rice, the state’s emergency assistance director, said in a statement to MassLive. The families will have access to full bathrooms, a cafeteria, a gym and a large common room, he said.

The site will be set …