Dozens still living in tents
Deadline looms Wednesday to clear Mass. and Cass of encampments
Dozens of people were still living in what’s left of a sprawling homeless encampment two days before Mayor Michelle Wu’s deadline for clearing tents at the epicenter of the city’s opioid crisis at the intersection of Mass. and Cass, officials said.
“The encampments that we see and that some individuals have been living in for a number of years at this point are not a safe or healthy place for anyone to be living. There’s not heat, no running water or sanitation,” Wu said.
Wu, nearly two months on the job, said it’s “past the point of urgency” to connect people living in the area known as Mass. and Cass to be connected with housing resources to get them off the streets.
Removing the tent cities was a major focus on the mayoral campaign trail and Wu has promised to get cleanup of the area started within the first 100 days of her administration.
The Boston Public Health Commission last month identified 145 people living at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard and set a Jan. 12 deadline for getting those people into transitional or temporary housing and other needed services.
As of Monday, Wu said 83 people have moved into new housing from the encampments and said space is available for the other 62 people. The mayor noted there are more people currently residing at Mass. and Cass than those identified in last month’s survey and said those people would eventually be provided services as well.
Nearly everyone surveyed last month said existing shelter options did not meet their needs and that they would like to move into lowthreshold housing, Wu said.
Dr. Monica Bharel, the former state public health commissioner turned Mass. and Cass cleanup czar under Wu, said everyone staying in the Mass. and Cass encampment will be “offered a safe indoor space to go.”
Outreach will “intensify” ahead of the Wednesday deadline, she said.
“We all know that the conditions are very unsafe in the encampment,” Bharel said. “In the last week with the temperatures plunging and the snow, we are worried about hypothermia, frostbite and other cold related injuries as well.”
City Housing Chief Sheila Dillon the city has worked with advocates and local nonprofits to bring lowthreshold housing and shelter space online for 200 individuals. Of those spaces, 159 are now operational.
Wu said officials “continue to make progress” to meeting the Wednesday goal of clearing tents, but said removing the encampments would take more than a day. She said the city’s efforts are driven by a “public health and housing-led approach.”
“This week marks a transition from a housing surge to community building and recovery. On Wednesday, the city will continue efforts to connect individuals with housing, take down the tents that are left behind and no longer needed, and begin clearing the street,” she said.