BOSTON (WHDH) - The Baker administration is pushing back against a public request from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu regarding conditions at Mass. and Cass, as issues of homelessness and substance addiction continue in the area.
Last week, Wu told reporters that the city needed additional partnerships and resources from the state, including the construction of around 1,000 more units of “low-threshold supportive housing” to be created outside Boston. The mayor requested around $20 million for the facilities, which can provide resources and case management for those struggling with homelessness who cannot stay in regular homeless shelters.
The state, however, did not take kindly to the call for action.
In a letter, the state’s Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said that she was “surprised” to hear Wu’s comments and defended what Massachusetts has already invested in similar programs. She pointed to the $40 million that has funded multiple initiatives and programs since June 2021, including $15 million for developing and operating three temporary shelter programs, $5 million to support Boston’s outreach programs and over $1.8 million for the Boston Public Health Commission.
Closing out the letter was a line that read:
“This humanitarian crisis that exists in the area is exacerbated by individuals preying upon vulnerable people and we urge you to pursue criminal investigations and community policing efforts, so everyone’s rights are protected.”
In response, Wu pushed back herself, saying that low-threshold housing in Boston created with the help of the state has already been effective, but that the issues she outlined go beyond the city. She said the nature of the problems were regional and statewide and needed regional and statewide solutions.
“It’s not enough and it can’t all be in Boston and so, as we have created those units, we’ve served hundreds of residents, dozens already moving onto permanent housing from transitional housing,” Wu said. “But we’ve had even more flow of folks from outside our city and outside our region and, sometimes, outside our state as well so, this really needs to be a true regional and statewide partnership.”
The mayor said the 200 low-threshold units that have already been built have been highly effective in Boston, but with 150 people on the waiting list for them, the city and the state need more.
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