Time to solve Methadone Mile crisis is now
I’ve often cited the sad, heartbreaking human toll for those who inhabit and travel the downward-spiral that is the Methadone Mile. I live within a mile or so of the horror and pass through several times a day — but never at night.
An entire culture has been allowed to take root and grow, cultivated by years of inaction. The Newmarket business area, Roxbury and South End bear the brunt of escalating out-of-control behavior in an area mostly devoid of the services necessary to get it under control.
I understand and appreciate that we are a compassionate people who have tolerated conditions in this area that straddles the South End and Roxbury because most of us understand that opioid addiction is a disease. Many of us have family members touched by this crisis. We also know that a one-size-fits-all solution does not work to even begin to confront or contain the unmitigated disaster.
I think I speak for most when I say the attack on the corrections officer caught on camera was a turning point that signaled the critical need for change on many fronts. Let’s work that to our advantage.
For Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins, whose Suffolk County House of Correction is within the Mile, the attack was the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Outside of his window are atrocities not caught on camera, like prostitutes openly plying their trade, drug buying and selling, addicts shooting up and probably even active overdoses. Requests are often made for Tompkins’ staff to escort visitors frightened for their safety to their cars. Inside, he deals with a population of inmates of which 65% to 70% are incarcerated for drug offenses. He has had forums to discuss solutions for a compassionate response for what amounts to a public health crisis exacerbated by petty crimes committed to feed out-ofcontrol habits.
Following the attack on the corrections officer, Sheriff Tompkins took action. He called for an emergency meeting and invited District Attorney Rachael Rollins and Boston Police Department Commissioner William Gross. Mayor Marty Walsh and Gov. Charlie Baker were represented by members of their staffs.
“First and foremost, this meeting is about keeping our people here at the department and the surrounding area safe,” said Sheriff Tompkins. “What’s happened in the aftermath of last week’s attack is a good start, but we want to maintain it. The question is, ‘How do we achieve sustainability?’ ” … and results, I might add.
The sheriff ’s meeting was held before the ill-advised “Operation Clean Sweep” by the BPD that netted the wheelchairs of homeless vets and 15 arrests. That should have never happened.
Thank you to Steve Fox and other South End activists who decried the treatment at an overflow meeting at the South End Library. There is absolutely no reason we should not expect both dignity and help for those caught up in the throes of drug addiction and a plan that increases public safety.
Here are a few things I would add to the sheriff’s agenda for discussion at his next meeting:
Please don’t think of putting a needle exchange facility on the Mile. Instead, let’s make sure more naloxone (Narcan) is available to reverse overdoses and is more widely distributed than it is now.
Get rid of all the needle sharp disposal boxes — especially ones within a stone’s throw of schools. The boxes broadcast that drugs are used here — a bad advertisement for Roxbury’s fledgling business community already impacted by the migration of Mile inhabitants with nowhere to go for help.
What exactly is going on with federal and state opioid assistance money? Who among our local, state and Congressional representatives is making sure Massachusetts is getting its fair share? Where are the funds going? How are needs prioritized? To me, there is no greater priority than uprooting the Methadone Mile by helping those who need it.
Is there a schedule for the rebuild of Long Island campus? I would like to suggest an outside arbitrator to bring all parties together. In the meantime, how about formulating a backup plan with a focus on getting folks off the streets, connecting them to help and diminishing and de-escalating what has become an untenable, explosive situation?
Tompkins said at the meeting: “We need more beds for addiction recovery, we need more beds for mental health — we need more beds.”
Most of all, we need the will and resolve to finally get something done.
Thank you, Sheriff Tompkins, for getting the ball rolling.