Inside AHOPE's offices, the waiting room was crowded. "Everybody is just going to walk around, find a place to stay warm and move from one end of the street to another," she said. She doubted the new strategy would help improve the area. It's an ugly situation," said Linda Winn, 56, who said she frequently visits AHOPE. It was approved as the city looked for new tools to address a worsening combination of violence, drug use and homelessness - before winter set in. It gives police more authority to clear tents and allows officers to arrest anyone who refuses to remove a temporary housing structure from the streets. The encampment was removed under city ordinance that took effect Nov. The program serves about 300 people a day, according to the health commission, a 20% increase since before city workers and law enforcement officers dismantled the tent encampment. Some appeared to be under the influence of drugs some tended to bloodied wounds on their arms and legs, which can result from injecting drugs.ĪHOPE is one of the neighborhood's few remaining providers of substance use treatment and mental health services. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Ī couple dozen people lingered on the steps leading to AHOPE, which is run by the Boston Public Health Commission. Get on the sidewalk." Boston Police cruisers parked on Massachusetts Avenue with their lights flashing to emphasize their presence all around the "Mass. "Let's go, let's go, let's go," a Public Health Commission officer told people who had gathered in front of the building. Traducido en español por El Planeta, Boston's Latino daily.Ī pair of police cruisers, a state police SUV and a Public Health Commission vehicle flanked the entrance to AHOPE, a needle exchange program on Albany Street. The public safety agencies monitoring streets near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard on a recent day included state troopers, Boston police officers and officers with the Boston Public Health Commission. Several law enforcement agencies are involved in the effort to keep it that way, raising concerns among lawyers and advocates about the impact to people seeking services for substance use disorders and mental health care. In the month since city workers cleared a large tent encampment near Boston's South End, the streets remain tent-free.
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