On the heels of a report by Boston 25 that detailed increased concerns about illegal drug activity in the South End, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu acknowledged the problem in an interview on GBH’s Boston Public Radio while also asserting that progress has been made when it comes to curbing drug use at Mass and Cass, the city’s longtime epicenter for homelessness and drug activity.
“I want to just be very clear that the stories that I’ve heard, and I’ve been out in the neighborhood and in meetings with many of the residents who have been living in the South End for years and what they are reporting and what particularly those families with children are reporting having to explain to their kids or worry about with their kids, it’s unacceptable and we are doing everything that we can to continue to get at this challenge,” Wu said.
“It’s complex and hard dealing with a national opiate crisis at the local level as one city,” Wu added. “We have made some really significant, real progress on this front … Compare now to four years ago before our administration had started. We now have a real infrastructure in place to provide an actual pathway to get people off the streets into treatment and housing and job counseling, and we have seen hundreds of people move off the streets and are now in permanent, supportive housing.”
Wu went on to say that the city now provides 24-hour, citywide outreach and support to drug users in need of intervention, and that some data suggests the scope of the problem has actually diminished in recent years.
“If you look just by the statistics and the numbers, in fact, the number of people who are gathering outside is much lower than last summer or the summers before,” Wu said. “The number of people who are living permanently on the streets is far far lower. But we still have a challenge of outdoor, congregate substance use, and as we have tackled the larger problem, we have seen the challenges get worse in small, targeted areas in the city, particularly in the … sections of the South end and Roxbury and parts of Dorchester.”
Wu also said there are no encampments in Boston, unlike in many other communities. Even so, she added, the city is “doubling down” when it comes to the visibility and activity of Boston police, cooperation with the Suffolk Country District Attorney, and efforts to place individuals in supportive housing and recovery programs.
Josh Kraft, Wu’s main challenger in this year’s mayoral race, has made the situation at Mass and Cass one of his key campaign issues, calling her management of the situation there and in surrounding neighborhoods a “clear failure” and advocating for the creation of at least one long-term recovery campus in the city.
Later in the interview, Wu acknowledged frustration with the uneven pace of what she sees as improvement at Mass and Cass and in nearby areas.
“I wish we could move consistently in the right direction instead of feeling like it’s one step forward , two steps back, three steps forward … just [a] really tough, tough challenge,” Wu said.
