MOVEMENT ON THE STREET
Pols express hope after summit on Mass & Cass dilemma
Area officials are expressing some cautious optimism after Gov. Charlie Baker convened the powers that be for the first of what are believed to be multiple meetings about the situation at Mass and Cass.
Baker organized an hourlong sit-down with Acting Mayor Kim Janey, Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins, Attorney General Maura Healey, Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins, trial court high-ups, Boston police brass and the public defenders’ office — with the decision makers themselves plus assorted aides.
Multiple of the involved stakeholders said the meeting, first reported by Channel 5, was a good start on dealing with the conditions in the South End/Newmarket area often called “Mass and Cass” for its proximity to the busy intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard or “Methadone Mile” for the heavy cluster of addiction services located there.
“For the first time in the last three years, I really feel that there is a concerted effort to get something done,” Tompkins, whose offices are right near the heart of the Mile, told the Herald on Wednesday. “Longest journey begins with a first step, and this was that.”
He said he looks forward to the next meetings, which would aim to be more solutions-focused than introductory, as this one was. At this one, everyone spoke their piece about what they’re hoping to see and what they could bring to the table.
Janey spokeswoman Stephanie Garrett-Stearns said this is the type of meeting that the acting mayor’s been pushing for a long time — one called by the governor, and convening the people with the power to make changes. She said that one of the city’s priorities is for the state to get the $15.7 million to house people in some of the surrounding cities going.
“Boston cannot continue to carry this burden,” she told the Herald. “And so this will take state leadership and state coordination.”
A Baker spokeswoman said the administration “has been engaging with the City of Boston and other stakeholders on how to support the City’s efforts to address the Mass & Cass crisis. The Administration supports a regional approach and is making several resources available including treatment beds, supportive housing units and financial support.”
A spokeswoman for the attorney general confirmed Healey has made this issue “a top priority” and has been talking to involved people for months.
A spokeswoman for the court system said Trial Court Chief Justice Paula Carey, Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Robert Ronquillo and Trial Court Administrator John Bello attended the meeting.
Tompkins noted that he did bring up his proposal to commit some people on the street to an unused building in the jail he runs — a proposal panned by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley but given more air by the DA, acting mayor and AG, who all have said it should be on the table.
He said there wasn’t much further discussion about his proposal at the hourlong meeting, but he said, “My team is getting ready to receive folks if in fact it comes that way.”
This involves being able to have the staff, medication and caseworkers able to receive people — which he said he could have ready in four to six weeks.
He did add that if people are put in another institution, such as the old Shattuck hospital, “I’m good with that also.”
He said with the cold a “nanosecond” away, the goal is to get people under a roof with services.
“The sheriff’s department is not looking to criminalize this,” he said. “I wish people would really believe that.”