The first of two community meetings in response to the October closure of the Long Island shelter — which left hundreds of homeless displaced and without treatment programs — is scheduled to take place tonight, as laid out in Mayor Marty Walsh's Thanksgiving-eve update.
In his update, Mayor Walsh also laid out plans for temporary replacements of some of the recovery programs that were also shut down approximately eight weeks ago, after the bridge that led to the Long Island shelter was deemed unsafe.
According to the Mayor's statement, two facilities are currently under restoration to temporarily replace some of the recovery programs while the bridge undergoes repairs for the next three years.
"For really the first time, we're getting a sense of some of the plans that the city has for the next step, which is relocating the programs on the mainland since — at least for the next few years — it's very clear that Long Island will not be available to any programs at all," said Jonathan Scott, President and CEO of Victory Programs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding the homeless and those with substance abuse disorders.
The first meeting is scheduled Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Mildred Avenue Community Center Auditorium in Mattapan.
You can listen to the full interview with Jonathan Scott above.
