Shattuck expansion meeting reveals strong feelings and divisions
A community meeting in Jamaica Plain held to clarify the next steps in the proposed redevelopment of the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital into a treatment center for addiction and mental illness drew intense opposition from dozens of community groups and revealed a deep divide over the plan.
Tensions were high between those in opposition to the redevelopment and those who had come to the forum at English High School Monday evening to show support for the proposal. But both sides agreed that lead developer Boston Medical Center is being insufficiently transparent through its years of planning.
“We believe that this process has been flawed from the beginning,” said Melissa Hamel, of Jamaica Plain. “It hasn’t included the people who actually are the stakeholders of this, which are the people who live near the park.”
Hamel is part of the Coalition for Region Wide Services Beyond Franklin Park, a group of more than 500 residents; she said in the few meetings that BMC has held to discuss its proposal, community engagement has been discouraged.
“They didn’t let people speak up at the meetings, and they had the chat turned off,” said Hamel. “It was pretty obvious they were just asking us not to participate.”
Standing at the front of the school’s auditorium, state Representative Samantha Montaño said the amount of misinformation has been disappointing.
“[The meeting] got co-opted by folks who wanted to talk about the project when we were here to talk about the process and how to impact the process,” said Montaño. “I understand that there’s a lot of fear around folks who have substance use disorder, but they’re also members of our community who, when they’re here, will thrive and be able to contribute to the community in great ways.”
The proposed $550 million project calls for 446 treatment and emergency shelter beds and 405 units of supportive housing for individuals and families — which many Franklin Park advocates, neighborhood groups, and elected officials fear will come at a cost to neighbors.
“The Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan areas have the highest amount of people with substance abuse disorder,” said Tanna Preston, a Mattapan resident. “You’re asking for disaster, that is not thoughtful planning at all.”
Preston said incorporating a large population of people struggling with substance use into a community lacking in resources will harm everyone involved.
“I don’t object to the fact that there needs to be a place for formerly homeless people or displaced people or unhoused people,” said Preston. “But why can’t they do it in Brookline or Newton?”
Other residents said the need for Shattuck’s expansion trumps negotiations about where the renovations should take place. Zack DeClerck, a Jamaica Plain resident in recovery from substance use disorder, said the expansion is “life and death.”
“Of course Newton should do this, but they’re not,” said DeClerck. “This is the community I live in. I’m going to show up to say that I’m not afraid of this being in my neighborhood, I’m not afraid for my kids, and I’m not afraid for our quality of life in any way.”
DeClerck said his own recovery was made possible by access to inpatient care followed by the privilege of having a safe place to live. The proposed expansion will allow people to transition from one service to the next without leaving the campus, which DeClerck said is crucial to allow patients to focus on getting better.
For residents who have lost loved ones to substance use, the Shattuck expansion offers hope that other families might be spared that pain, some said.
Heather Mick-Carito, who lives in the Forest Hills area, said the services proposed might have benefited her son, who died of a drug overdose in 2016.