BOSTON (State House News Service) - As they face the immediate problems evident in Boston's Mass. and Cass area, city officials on Wednesday outlined their intention to revitalize recovery options and social services on Long Island, and reopen a campus there in four years.
Substance abuse disorder services were previously fragmented and siloed on the island, Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, following her tour of Long Island buildings alongside Mayor Michelle Wu and providers.
As stakeholders "reimagine" the potential of Long Island, Ojikutu pitched a "coordinated system of care" that is also "equity focused" and incorporates social determinants of health to help individuals continue in their recovery journey.
"I think it's important also to remind ourselves just how critical of a resource this was and how much of an asset this was, for the city of Boston, as well as for the state and for the region ... We're seeing the brunt of not having it available at this point in time," Ojikutu said. "What we're looking for is to create something that's truly synergistic with what is available on the mainland."
Boston's focus on once again providing care for substance use and mental health problems on Long Island comes as public safety conditions deteriorate around the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area. Wu recently sounded the alarm over escalating criminal activity within the epicenter of Boston's opioid crisis, and neighborhood associations are now advocating for recovery services to be temporarily provided at Widett Circle to ease the situation at Mass. and Cass.
Wu said officials are working in the "very short-term" to develop a plan for Mass. and Cass for this winter, when cold temperatures are a matter of "life or death" for people outside overnight.
"We're thinking about preparation for safety, for transitional housing and just to change the dynamic so that people have what they need and we can return the normal operation of a street while also continuing to have the outreach and services connected to people who need that," she said.
Wu's office this month said it secured a Chapter 91 license from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, a step towards rebuilding the bridge to Long Island.
Former Mayor Marty Walsh shuttered the bridge, which was later dismantled, in 2014 due to safety concerns, resulting in the closure of addiction treatment services and other longstanding resources located on the island for hundreds of patients.
Wu noted Wednesday that Boston has allocated about $40 million so far to stabilize the existing buildings on Long Island, as well $83 million for bridge construction. The mayor said she first visited Long Island three weeks before it shut down, and she recalled "runs of buses" transporting patients to and from the island, with a "large chunk" of services providing overnight shelter.
"We really envision this as less so of a majority overnight, just emergency shelter to sleep and that's it -- and more of that comprehensive campus with a long-term stay that provides for, as mentioned, all of the various needs that someone might have as they are living with substance use, which includes, of course, medical treatment, and recovery, and counseling, and care but also that workforce development piece and all of the other parts of your life that you can grow in and find stability," Wu said.
To advance the Long Island bridge project, Boston still needs to undergo a federal consistency review by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and obtain a bridge permit from the U.S. Coast Guard, city officials said.
Yet buoyed by the Chapter 91 license, city officials say they can accelerate construction for the bridge and the more than 350,000-square-foot recovery campus, encompassing 11 bridges. Despite repeated pushback from leaders in Quincy -- where cars would need to travel through as they reach Long Island and Moon Island, which would be connected by the new bridge -- Boston officials have remained confident in pursuing their plan.
The model of integrated, collaborative care offered on Long Island will be the "envy of other cities," said Charles Gagnon, president and CEO of Volunteers of America of Massachusetts. The public health infrastructure that's connected to the mainland could also encompass recovery-based housing, workforce development and digital literacy to ensure people become self-sufficient, Gagnon said.
"We have a problem, but it is solvable, solvable, solvable," Gagnon said. "It's not Los Angeles -- 60,000 homeless people. It's not San Francisco. We have a group of people that need our help, and we can re-create the continuum of care, and we're going to be a stronger community because of it."
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which operated on Long Island for decades, was among the organizations that "quickly" evacuated in October 2014, said chief medical officer Dr. Denise De Las Nueces. The closure of services had a profound impact on patients, she said.
De Las Nueces emphasized a "message of hope" for the future campus, while thanking Wu and Ojikutu for using a public health and equity lens during the Long Island planning process.
"That is exactly what we need in order to make sure that all communities that are affected with substance use disorders and experiencing homelessness get the care that they need," she said.
During the bridge construction period, Wu said providers and services can form partnerships, plus develop systems for sharing data and intake information, that are in place before Long Island begins treating patients.
"We envision this as a comprehensive, coordinated and very cohesive, seamless flow of many, many providers and many, many helping hands envisioning what that whole spectrum of services looks like," Wu said.
Written By Alison Kuznitz/SHNS
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