Widett Circle, recently purchased by the MBTA for $255 million, could provide the space for a short-term recovery campus to help the city take control of the burgeoning addiction problems at Mass and Cass as it works to rebuild the Long Island bridge, a South End group proposed.
“The challenge for us is not just to eliminate tents, or move people from one location to another, but to begin to address what we’ve heard from people who are there and vulnerable in terms of housing and treatment and a safe space,” said South End Forum Chair Stephen Fox at the announcement of the group’s proposal Friday.
The plan, presented by leaders of Newmarket Business Improvement District and the South End Forum, would divert homeless individuals at Mass and Cass to short-term pallet-house communities built in Widett Circle offering mental health, substance abuse, and housing and workforce development assistance.
The proposal comes weeks after the mayor announced the troubled Mass and Cass area — a hub of homeless encampments and drug activity — has reached a “new level of public safety alarm,” pointing to a sharp rise in EMS incidents over the summer.
City officials have begun discussing anti-encampment ordinances for the area, while pushing for large-scale treatment centers at a Long Island bridge campus and Shattuck Hospital constructed over the next several years.
The South End groups said they estimate their proposal would use five to seven acres of the 24-acre land — bought by the MBTA in April for Commuter Rail train storage and maintenance — and cost about $25 million of “city, state, federal and private dollars” over three years. The aim would be to open before the start of winter.
Speakers said they had reached out to the city, state and MBTA but did not note any commitments from the entities.
A spokesperson confirmed city officials have met with the Newmarket BID and South End Forum “on plans to advance health and safety in the neighborhood.”
“Residents can expect to see new approaches in the coming weeks, including increased law enforcement, to better serve the residents of the neighborhood and address persistent challenges,” a spokesperson for Mayor Wu’s said.
The organizations’ plan would also call for strict law enforcement to prevent a re-creation of the issues at Mass and Cass.
“At the same time that this is happening, there has to be enforcement on the streets,” said Sue Sullivan, Executive Director of the New Market Business Improvement District. “There has to be a no tent policy — not just a policy but an ordinance — and there has to be no open drug use on the streets. There has to be, otherwise people will just go right back out.”
The plan calls for five so-called “zones” of treatment. Zones one through three would have 30 pallet-houses each, giving people access to voluntary initial assistance for three months, space to detox for one to two weeks and Clinical Stabilization Services for around a month to two months.
Zone four, Sullivan said, would be 60 pallet-houses allowing people to continue their recovery and access housing and workforce development assistance for four to six months. Zone five would consist of stable housing, employment and continued mental health and substance abuse support.
“By creating a pallet community like this, a recovery campus, we’re saying that we’re not going to kick people to the curb if you have a relapse or there’s a problem — then we simply move you back in the cycle,” said Fox.
City Council President Ed Flynn on Sunday didn’t indicate whether the council would be looking at the plan directly but spoke to the need to take down the tents and provide “enhanced city services” to residents and businesses in the area.
“It is critical we provide a detox bed and treatment program for anyone suffering from addition,” Flynn told the Herald. “It is also important to immediately address the ongoing violence, sexual assaults, human trafficking and drug dealing, not only at Mass and Cass but also in the neighborhood surrounding it.”
Sullivan emphasized the urgency of enacting a short-term solution as longer-term solutions take shape.
“We can’t wait any longer,” said Sullivan. “We have to do something now. The residents can’t wait. The businesses can’t wait. And the victims on the street can’t wait.”
