Acting Mayor Kim Janey took her first significant action in the Mass and Cass area this week, ordering city workers to give notice that those living in the encampment won’t be able to stay there for much longer. As of today, most of the encampments remain.
Dr. Charles Anderson, President and CEO of the Dimock Center, and Craig Heard, a member of one of the city’s residential programs, joined Jim Braude on Greater Boston to discuss.
Anderson noted that of the 23 million people in the U.S. who struggle with alcohol and drug addiction, just 10% seek and receive treatment. He called Mass and Cass a “complex problem that requires complex solutions.”
“This is beyond a public health crisis, this is a human suffering crisis,” he said. “It’s going to be hard for us to forget these images that we see there on Mass and Cass. And quite honestly, I really feel like we are at a point where we’re getting to this type of political will that’s required to roll up our sleeves and solve these problems.”
Heard has not lived on Mass and Cass but has visited people there and has been a member at the John Flowers Recovery Home seeking treatment for addiction. He said many people struggle with a feeling of hopelessness that makes it hard to get the help they need.
“I know what they’re going through out there,” he said. “It’s a lot of pain, it’s a lot of loss of hope, no sense of direction. It’s just hopeless… We need a unity. We need to come together as people and try to go reach out to these people.”
WATCH: A Health Care Leader And A Formerly Homeless Bostonian Talk About Mass And Cass
