Improving Public Safety and Investing in Treatment & Recovery Programs
The issue of substance abuse and how to manage the public health and safety challenges stemming from the opioid epidemic have been an ongoing discussion for many years in the neighborhoods of South End, Roxbury and South Boston. For too long, the challenges facing these neighborhoods have outpaced the level of sustained investment needed to address them.
Here in the City, I led the effort to secure a substantial increase in funding for Treatment and Recovery Programs for those with substance abuse disorders.
In the FY27 budget, I worked together with Representative John Moran to secure more than $4 million in targeted investments to improve public safety and expand treatment and recovery services in and around Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, including supportive recovery housing, additional clinical staff, expanded treatment capacity, diversion programming through the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, coordinated outreach, and additional support for Boston Health Care for the Homeless and Boston Medical Center.
The budget also authorizes funding to implement recommendations developed by the South End, Roxbury, Newmarket Working Group on Addiction and Recovery, continuing the collaborative effort to improve public health and public safety in the surrounding neighborhoods.
In the Legislature, I also filed S. 1042, An Act relative to Life Saving Treatment that helps strengthen the involuntary committed treatment process in three ways:
- It allows individuals facing involuntary commitment to attend hearings remotely;
- It requires anyone who has survived an overdose and admitted to a hospital must be evaluated by a social worker, allowing us to intervene when it matters the most;
- It ensures that anyone who was court ordered for treatment must be allowed access to early discharge only with the approval of the judge who issued the commitment.
I strongly believe that with this act, we can treat substance abuse with the combined accountability and compassion needed, but also address this issue like a chronic issue and not a short time event.
I am also advancing a broader plan to address substance use and homelessness with the plan for rebuilding long-term treatment infrastructure. Inspired by an MIT study that calls for a treatment facility in Boston Harbor, and backed with data from the 1894 original Boston Floating Hospital, I have been advocating for a floating hospital facility that would give us the space, flexibility, and controlled environment to reach people who need the care but cannot safely stay on the streets. The proposal has strong support from neighborhood organizations and frontline service providers who have lived and seen the consequences for years.