Boston sets new deadline for people to clear from tents at Mass & Cass

BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has set a new deadline of January 12 for everyone to clear from tents in the city’s Mass & Cass corridor. Mayor Wu said each person will be connected with various low-threshold supportive housing placements before the tents are removed.

Low-threshold housing means a shelter that is open to everyone whether or not they are still using drugs or alcohol. A new headcount found 143 people are still living in tents near Mass & Cass.

Mayor Wu said it’s crucial to provide appropriate housing to each of those individuals ahead of the colder winter months.

“The vast majority of people are eager to find housing that meets their needs. That’s what we’ve worked very hard to provide,” Mayor Wu said.

The city formally announced three low-threshold supportive housing options that are either immediately available or will be opening their doors soon. Those sites are the Roundhouse Hotel in Roxbury, a “temporary cottage community” on the campus of the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Jamaica Plain, and the EnVision Hotel in the Jamaica Plain-Mission Hill area.

The plan was met with support from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and RIZE Massachusetts, a nonprofit organization focused on ending the opioid crisis.

“The plan for evidence-based, clinically-appropriate housing combined with comprehensive mental health and substance use disorder treatment services in diffuse locations is the right approach,” said a statement from RIZE Massachusetts.

Neighbors and business owners near the Mass & Cass corridor criticized the use of the Roundhouse Hotel for supportive housing.

“We feel we weren’t heard. There was no regard for the business owner or resident,” said Gerry DiPierro, owner of DiPierro construction. “How are we going to handle this type of volume in this area again when we just finished getting a little reprieve?”

According to Mayor Wu, the three sites announced on Wednesday amount to about 130 available beds. The administration previously set a goal to identify 200 beds and continues to explore additional low-threshold options across the city.

Mayor Wu acknowledged an existing challenge of finding enough people to work in these low-threshold shelters.

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