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For years, Boston leaders have struggled with how to address the intertwined crises of homelessness and public drug use concentrated near Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, an area known as “Mass and Cass.”
Even after the city cleared a large tent encampment there in 2023, drug activity and addiction related issues have spread into nearby neighborhoods, prompting growing frustration from residents.
A Push for Prevention
The problem is now a central issue in the Boston mayoral race between incumbent Mayor Michelle Wu and her challenger, philanthropist Josh Kraft. Both agree that the opioid epidemic and homelessness crisis are extremely difficult to solve at the local level, but they sharply differ on how to respond.
Mayor Wu’s approach focuses on coordinated outreach, prevention, and access to treatment and other services. In November 2023 her administration dismantled the Atkinson Street tent encampment citing public health and safety concerns.
The city paired this with ongoing enforcement to prevent tents from returning. According to city data the year after the removal saw no homicides in the area and a drop in violent crimes. Wu’s Boston Coordinated Response Team works with police and city agencies to enforce encampment bans, respond to public drug use reports and connect people to treatment.
Nonviolent drug offenders may be diverted into recovery programs instead of facing jail time. Wu has expanded police presence in problem areas, deployed specially trained outreach officers, and allocated $200,000 in grants to strengthen the Coordinated Response Team.
Calls for Rigorous Enforcement
Josh Kraft’s plan takes a more enforcement-driven approach. He argues Wu’s efforts have failed to stop public drug use, trespassing and needle litter. Kraft proposes stronger enforcement of quality-of-life laws, with cases handled in specialty courts that emphasize treatment.
He would revive the Community Syringe Redemption Program, which paid for returned needles to slow the spread of contagious illnesses related to injectable drug use. Kraft also vows to increase cleanup efforts after recent incidents, including one in which an individual stepped on a discarded needle.
Kraft also wants to create a state-partnered recovery campus to replace the long-closed Long Island facility, providing housing support for those overcoming addiction, along with a surge in shelter beds to house all unhoused individuals. It’s a bold plan that has seen significant success in other major US cities such as San Francisco.
The face offers voters two paths: Wu’s emphasis on coordinated outreach and sustained prevention versus Kraft’s call for tougher enforcement paired with expanded recovery facilities and cleanup programs.
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