Neighbors ask Boston to consider mandatory drug treatment to address Mass and Cass crisis

BOSTON — Quality of life issues and safety concerns connected to the Mass and Cass spillover that’s impacting neighborhoods across Boston took center stage at Boston City Hall on Tuesday.

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn, Councilor Tania Fernandes-Anderson, and At-Large Councilor Henry Santana held a hearing to address concerns about the crowds that have dispersed.

Some neighbors testified that drug use and suspicious activity has scattered closer to their homes since last year’s encampment crackdown.

Boston 25 News first told you about the hearing to discuss different community perspectives on Sunday.

Residents in the South End, South Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, and Beacon Hill said they’ve been dealing with a new wave of issues over the last year.

“Prior to this year, I’ve never seen the Boston Common, Cambridge Street or the Esplanade get this overrun with drug paraphernalia or folks in crisis,” said Beacon Hill resident Katherine Kennedy.

Kennedy, a mother of two, testified that she now carries a sharps container in her diaper bag.

“As a mother of two small children, this is very scary,” she said.

Neighbors criticized the Boston Public Health Commission’s approach of meeting substance users where they are.

Instead, they called on the city of Boston to consider mandatory drug treatment to assist in getting people the help that they need.

“There’s a growing movement on the West Coast and Canada away from the unquestioned privacy of the harm reduction philosophy and toward what might be called intervention first model,” said South End resident David Stone.

Boston 25 News has been following community concerns closely for years.

Boston Public Health Commission’s Executive Director Dr. Bisola Ojikutu said the latest stream of community complaints are being listened to.

She said overdose deaths from January to April of this year were down 33 percent compared to the same time last year.

She said the city of Boston saw a more than 50 percent decrease in black and Latinx populations.

“We have a system that’s broken for people living with substance use disorder,” said Dr. Ojikutu. “What we need is a much stronger continuum of care for individuals living with substance use disorder.”

A Boston Public Health Commission spokesperson sent the following statement to Boston 25 News from Dr. Ojikutu:

From a public health perspective our priority is to reduce overdose deaths and offer people living with substance use disorder a range of treatment and harm reduction options. We also realize that we need to take care of our neighbors and our community members. Their quality of life is also an important priority. This is why our work is citywide and always evolving. Currently, the Boston Public Health Commission and City of Boston are meeting the needs of all of our residents by expanding our citywide outreach system, proactively collecting used syringes, and responding to all 311 calls made by residents.

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