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From YouTube: MASS & CASS Update - 10/20/22 Part 1
Description
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a press conference to provide updates on City efforts to address the unsheltered homelessness and substance use crises centered at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.
Watch Part 2: https://youtu.be/U77wTVWhzIg
A
Hey
counselor:
let's
see
we
have
all
our
speakers
here
talking
to
the
solo
effects:
okay,
where's
brawl,
All,
Right
Pearl's,
here
just
checking
okay
good
morning,
everyone,
first
of
all,
just
sound
check.
Can
everyone
hear
us
like
this?
A
Okay,
the
sound
okay
come
up
rep.
If
you
want
to
come
up,
I
see
you
and
any
counselors
who
want
to
join
too.
Thank
you.
So
much
for
being
here.
A
And
counselor
Flaherty
too.
If
he's,
if
he
wants
to
come
up
look
this
is
we
are
in
a
we're
in
a
park
that
belongs
to
the
people
of
Boston
and
that
we
have
been
working
extremely
hard
to
try
to
make
sure
we
are
making
improvements
every
day,
I'm
standing
here
with
a
group
of
the
most
committed
and
dedicated
individuals
who
have
been
working
day
in
and
day
out,
to
ensure
that
our
city
continues
to
make
progress
in
what
can
feel
like
an
intractable
situation
that
we
are
facing
in
cities
across
the
country.
A
Some
of
the
leaders
who
are
here
today
and
and
who
you'll
hear
from
shortly
are
director
Tanya
Del
Rio,
director
of
our
coordinated
response,
team
executive
director,
Dr
basola
ojukutu,
who
runs
the
Boston
Public
Health
commission,
our
Boston
Police
Commissioner
Michael
Cox
Sheila
Dillon,
our
chief
of
the
office
of
housing,
superintendent
of
street
operations,
Mike
broll
and
Commissioner
of
Parks
and
Recreation
Ryan
Woods,
we're
also
joined
to
by
our
partner,
who
is
basically
a
city,
I,
feel
think
of
her
as
a
city,
city
staff,
leader,
almost
who's
doing
so
so
much
in
in
Partnership
and
advocating
for
the
community
and
the
businesses
executive.
A
Director
of
the
new
market
business
Improvement
districts
who
Sullivan
we
are
here
at
Clifford,
Park,
a
space
that
children
and
families
in
Roxbury
and
across
Boston
deserve
to
be
able
to
use
to
its
fullest
and
to
enjoy.
As
a
city,
we
have
a
responsibility
to
care
for
those
living
with
substance,
use
disorders
and
mental
health
challenges,
to
connect
them
to
services
that
they
need
and
deserve,
and
at
the
same
time,
we
have
a
responsibility
to
address
the
impacts
that
these
challenges
have
on
our
communities.
A
Today,
we're
going
to
provide
some
updates
on
steps
that
this
team
has
been
working
hard
to
deliver
on
all
of
those
fronts
and
to
share
a
little
bit
of
my
thoughts
about
now
that
we
are
here
what
we
have
learned
over
the
last
10
months
and
what
we
need
moving
forward
from
the
state
and
from
other
partners.
A
In
addition,
yesterday
morning,
thanks
to
members
of
our
transportation
department,
Department
of
Public
Works
Police,
Department,
Public,
Health,
commission
office
of
housing,
our
coordinated
response
team
and
New
Market
bid,
we
helped
shift
residents
from
Southampton
Street
to
Atkinson
Street,
to
improve
Public
Safety
to
get
off
a
busier
Road
for
anyone
who
has
driven
through
that
area
or
walked
nearby.
It's
been
clear
for
some
time
now
how
dangerous
this
is,
for
both
the
drivers
and
pedestrians
alike,
to
have
groups
of
people
congregating
in
or
near
the
street,
and
we
saw
yesterday
the
same
work.
A
It's
hard
to
stand
here
and
talk
to
you
all
about
how
much
progress
that
we've
made
when
I
know
it
still
feels
like
the
city
is
bearing
so
much
and
so
visibly
shaken
and
affected
by
the
depth
of
substance,
use
disorder
and
mental
health
and
homelessness
that
we
are
still
struggling
to
meet.
The
demand
to
serve
I
do
want
to
remind
everyone
of
the
context
and
share
a
little
bit
about
what
we
have
learned
along
that
in
along
those
lines.
A
So,
as
we
all
know,
there
used
to
be
a
whole
row
of
fortified
deeply
entrenched,
long-standing
encampments
that
pose
significant
public
health
and
safety
risks
both
to
those
living
in
those
tents
and
in
the
surrounding
community
and
over
the
last
few
months,
really
starting
with
a
housing
surge
that
resulted
in
a
removal
of
encampments.
In
January.
A
These
are
spaces
where
unhoused
residents
can
escape
the
cold,
get
hot
meals
and
work
with
our
teams
to
explore
housing
and
other
service
options
during
the
day,
they're
also
helping
decentralize
the
services
that
we're
providing
in
the
area,
because
we
know
that,
while
homelessness,
mental
health
and
substance
use
aren't
isolated
to
any
corner
of
the
city.
Many
individuals
end
up
concentrating
right
in
this
area
seeking
treatment,
shelter
and
other
services.
A
The
addition
of
these
centers
adds
to
work
that
happened
over
the
summer,
where,
in
August,
the
city
launched
the
mass
and
Cast
hub
table,
which
facilitates
interagency
collaboration
and
sharing
information
about
our
ongoing
efforts
day
by
day
every
single
morning.
The
level
of
detail
about
specific
locations.
Individuals
who
need
Services
Outreach
that
is
planned
out
for
that
single
day
is
coordinated
across
all
of
our
agencies,
in
a
way
that
we
had
not
seen
before
our
Public
Works
Public
Works
teams
have
added
new
street
lights
and
have
been
working
on
Street
cleanings
multiple
times
per
week.
A
Our
teams
have
collected
more
than
200
000
syringes
since
January,
and
that's
not
even
counting
what
community
members
have
have
been
doing
it
on
on
in
terms
of
coordinated
efforts
and
we've
seen
the
number
of
311
service
requests
for
needle
pickups
decrease
because
of
the
routine
cleanings
that
are
now
scheduled
for
areas
just
like
here
in
Clifford
Park.
A
While
these
improvements
and
Investments
are
worth
celebrating
and
highlighting,
I
would
just
ask
that
we
could
share
some
information
with
the
public
and
get
these
details
out
to
have
a
transparency
about
what
we're
doing
and
there's
a
lot
of
noise.
But
I
want
to
be
able
to
share
some
of
the
information
that
we
have
been
working
on.
B
A
Respectfully,
sir
I
will
engage
with
you
after
this,
but
we
need
to
get
through
this
information
so
that
everyone
in
the
community
can
understand.
We've
been
working
on.
Thank
you
so
much
for
being
here,
though,
I
know,
I
I,
respect
and
appreciate
your
passion
as
we
prepare
for
the
colder
weather,
we
will
be
helping
our
shelter
Partners
expand
capacity
because
we
know
the
winter
is
coming.
A
We
have
also
seen
the
limits
of
our
capacity
as
a
city.
We
know
that
in
this
area
we
are
receiving
people
from
across
New
England
up
in
the
months
ahead,
we're
looking
forward
to
working
with
our
partners
at
the
state
and
Regional
level.
All
right,
you
all!
If
we're
gonna,
do
it
like
this?
We
will
we're
going
to
pull
this
down
and
talk
to
folks
on
the
side,
so
I'm
gonna
pause
to
see
if
we
can
get
some
time
and
quiet
to
share
information.
B
A
A
week
we
have
been
working
for
10
months
to
ensure
that
this
area
can
have
as
much
support
and
resources
as
possible,
and
we
know
that
every
time
I'm
at
the
engagement
Center
every
time,
I
am
engaging
with
residents
in
the
area.
I
meet
folks
who
are
coming
in
from
all
across
the
state
and
the
region.
A
The
city
has
created
nearly
200
low
threshold,
Supportive
Housing
units
that
did
not
exist
a
year
ago.
These
units
have
been
critical
in
ensuring
that
we
could
serve
so
many
residents
and
the
outcomes
have
been
truly
phenomenal
in
terms
of
the
uptake
on
treatment
and
services
that
specific
individuals
who
are
in
these
housing
units
have
been
able
to
access
this
model.
A
For
these
individuals
who
are
able
to
access
this
housing
works,
but
we
need
more
support
and
in
the
city,
as
we
continue
to
permit
and
add
more
units
within
Boston,
we
are
calling
on
the
state
to
step
up
as
a
partner.
We
need
the
state
to
help
create
a
thousand
new
low
threshold
units
outside
the
city
of
Boston.
This
is
a
scale
of
support
that
would
allow
us
to
truly
address
this
Regional
Crisis.
A
Okay,
we
are
going
to
cut
this
and
go
up
to
the
side,
so
thank
you,
everyone
for
being
here,
I'd
appreciate
you
letting
us
share
this
information.