Part of the plan is to boost resources in the area to help addicts seeking treatment, while also removing more needles from city streets. Residents will see more police officers, as well as new light fixtures. The area was in the spotlight over the summer after an attack on a corrections officer was caught on video. Mayor Marty Walsh said the city is committed to doing everything possible to deal with the drug crisis. CBSN Boston. Joe Kennedy are looking to sway undecided voters in the final hours of their race in the Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary.
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The opioid epidemic that has consumed our country does not appear to be improving any time soon. Several homeless shelters and drug addiction clinics can be found along this stretch of land, giving it its foreboding name. The opioid epidemic continues to grow as an issue for the City of Boston as more and more people fall victim to overdose; from to , drug deaths due to synthetic opioid use rose by 2, percent in Boston alone. As a result, residents have been pushing for more immediate solutions to take on the Methadone Mile. These raids resulted in little more than scattering people into surrounding neighborhoods, but they are likely to come back for the drug treatment and shelter services concentrated in the area. Many residents of Boston considered this attempt as just another Band-Aid to slap on the gun wound of the opioid crisis.
Methadone clinics sit nearby, clashing with what many describe as an open-air drug market. Residents, desperate for a solution, say their calls for help are now being met with clear answers in the city's immediate plan to move forward. Marty Martinez, Chief of Health and Human Services, says a person task force is being created, including business leaders, community leaders and health care providers who will meet monthly to update progress. The new plan will be dealing with the issues surrounding the neighborhood's current quality of life while strengthening communication, coordination and alignment of services. Ave 2. According to Martinez, the city will begin collecting and compiling data in one central place, a dashboard which will be posted to the city's website every month, allowing the public to stay up to date with the latest developments in the area.
The public outcry for solutions to the drug abuse and homelessness in the area spiked in early August, after a Suffolk County corrections officer was beaten by a group of men as he was arriving at work. After two months of not providing specifics about how he would address the problems in the area, Walsh unveiled his plan on Oct. Following the attack on the corrections officer, Roselle Virula, manager of the Golden Nozzle Car Wash in the South End, told the Herald that she was fed up with being in danger due to all the crime and drug abuse going on around her. But after only two weeks since Walsh deployed his plan, she said things have improved significantly.
