MELNEA CASS/MASS AVE  2.0    A strategic plan for Newmarket  Square and neighboring communities              MELNEA CASS/MASS AVE 2.0      1.​ APPROACH 2  2. V ​ ALUES 4  3​. T ​ HE PLAN 5  FOCUS AREA 1 - COORDINATION & ALIGNMENT OF SERVICES 5  FOCUS AREA 2 - PUBLIC HEALTH 7  FOCUS AREA 3 - QUALITY OF LIFE 12  FOCUS AREA 4 - PUBLIC SAFETY 15                    1    MELNEA CASS/MASS AVE  2.0    1. APPROACH  The City of Boston is experiencing the tragic consequences of a national opioid  epidemic. Mayor Martin J. Walsh and his administration have approached this epidemic  with urgency and dedicated a wide array of resources and services in an effort to  minimize those aspects of the crisis that pose the most immediate threats to individual  lives and the greater public health. The City has also developed long-term strategies  with the goal of addressing the root causes of the epidemic and improving and  expanding our public health infrastructure through investments like the creation of a  comprehensive recovery campus on Long Island.    This epidemic is not confined to any one neighborhood or group of people. However,  the area around Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, including  Newmarket Square Square and other nearby neighborhoods, has felt the impact of the  epidemic most acutely. Residents and businesses in these neighborhoods have borne a  disproportionate share of the burden required to combat this epidemic. City  departments continue to work closely with residents and businesses in these areas to  maintain and improve the overall health and well-being of the community and all who  live, work, and stay there.    In recent months, the City has been confronting more challenges concentrated in the  Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass BoulevardMassachusetts Avenue and Melnea  Cass Boulevard area and the surrounding neighborhoods. To address these issues,  Mayor Walsh directed nearly a dozen City departments 1​​ to refocus and expand their  existing efforts and create a three-pronged strategy focused on 1) public health, (2)  public safety, and (3) quality of life issues as well as improvements to communication  and coordination between departments and alignment of services.           2    To that end, the City has redoubled its commitment to strategic action with the overall  goals of 1) connecting those struggling with substance use disorder (SUD) with  resources and a pathway to recovery, 2) ensuring public safety for all residents by  reducing criminal activity and 3) focusing on quality of life issues for our residents and  businesses. This strategy is captured in the “Melnea Cass/Mass Ave. 2.0” plan, which  presents key goals and measurable activities in each of the above-mentioned categories  as well as goals related to coordination and alignment of services. The new activities laid  out in this plan will be evaluated at six-month intervals to determine the City’s progress  towards its goals.     ​ Office of Recovery Services, Emergency Medical Services, Boston Police Department, Boston Fire Department,  Inspectional Services Department, Public Works Department, Department of Neighborhood Development, Office of  Neighborhood Services, Parks and Recreation Department and the Boston Public Health Commission  1 ​                     3    2. VALUES  The complexity of our nation’s substance use epidemic cannot be understated. Nor  should it ever be forgotten that this crisis has many faces: those struggling with  substance use disorder, their families and loved ones, and the many residents and  businesses who deal with crime and quality of life issues that arise from this national  crisis. For this reason, it is important to articulate the values that drive and define  our efforts:  The City of Boston is committed to preserving the safety, health, and dignity of its  residents and all persons engaged with its services in all its programs and activities,  and across all departments and agencies. We also believe that with respect to the  opioid epidemic, public safety begins with public health. That means prioritizing the  health of both residents and those struggling with substance use disorder, and,  where possible, diverting people away from the criminal justice system and into  treatment. Decreasing criminal activity in the surrounding neighborhoods remains a  high priority. Additionally, the City of Boston acknowledges that substance use has  historically been criminalized in communities of color rather than treated as public  health issues. We believe that following evidence-based practices, and embedding  these practices in all City departments engaged in this work, is necessary to avoid  repeating the mistakes of the past.          4    3. THE PLAN  FOCUS AREA 1 - COORDINATION & ALIGNMENT OF SERVICES  GOAL 1A   Improve internal and external coordination and communication of efforts related to  the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area to ensure A) an  alignment of City, State and private efforts, B) greater awareness of services being  provided, and C) better understanding of identified gaps:    ● Objective:​ Create mechanisms for ongoing dialogue between diverse  stakeholders by November 2019.    ○ Activity: ​Create a Task Force comprised of 24 members including City  and State officials, business and community residents, and other provider  stakeholders. The Task Force will meet monthly to provide oversight and  critical feedback on the City’s ongoing efforts at Massachusetts Avenue  and Melnea Cass Boulevard over the next couple of years.  ○ Activity: ​Formalize an internal City of Boston Coordinated Response  Team focused on ongoing efforts at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea  Cass Boulevard to monitor progress and work through gaps. The group  will meet weekly to discuss relevant information and metrics and plan for  the coming week.     ● Objective:​ Raise the visibility of current efforts being implemented by City and  private entities focused on the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass  Boulevard area.    ○ Activity​: Actively maintain a publicly viewable page on the City website  with consistent updates pertaining City activities in the Massachusetts  Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area as well as resource maps to  maintain transparency with respect to progress towards stated goals.  ○ Activity​: Launch ongoing public awareness campaign to increase visibility  and inform residents of all efforts occurring in the area to keep people  safe, engaged and on pathways to care.      GOAL 1B       5    Continuous assessment of strategic efforts in all three key goal areas to ensure  scaling of proven effective activities and redesign for efforts needing to be improved  or strengthened:    ● Objective:​ Using the “Melnea Cass/ Mass Ave. 2.0” plan , create a clear  dashboard to track relative outputs, outcomes and short-term impact by  December 2019.     ○ Activity​: Aggregate relevant data from all City departments ensuring that  leadership at City is apprised of important developments, performance  metrics and alerts in the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass  Boulevard service area.  ○ Activity​: Enhance utilization of EMS data including patient encounters,  types of calls, Narcotic Related Illnesses (NRI), mapping of incidents in  any target areas to inform, support and measure outcomes identified in  the plan.  ○ Activity: ​Leverage new and existing data sources to better understand  the impact of the opioid epidemic on neighborhoods ​outside t​ he  Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area to help us  proactively address emerging issues and make the case for a Citywide  response.   ○ Activity: ​Measure outputs and assess progress by comparing new metrics  to established, baseline data in all three key goal areas.  ○ Activity​: Review monthly data through aforementioned Task Force and  Working Group to identify areas of progress and concern where more  investment or attention is needed.  ○ Activity​: Produce a six-month report to highlight where current efforts  are producing impact (including related data) and highlight areas where  more development is needed.                                 6      FOCUS AREA 2 - PUBLIC HEALTH  GOAL 2A   Reduce overdose risk and infectious disease through comprehensive harm  reduction and drug user health and education:    ● Objective:​ Eliminate fatal overdose in the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea  Cass Boulevard area.    ○ Activity:​ Increase overdose prevention trainings to treatment providers,  community groups, businesses, and law enforcement agencies by ​50  percent ​across the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard  area, from ​14 to 21​ agencies trained.   ○ Activity: ​Add naloxone rescue kits to ​five​ public buildings in the  Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area in areas where  they will be accessible to the public.  ○ Activity: ​The City of Boston Post Overdose Response Team (PORT),  staffed by the Boston Fire Department and Recovery Services, will  increase post-overdose response visits to provide education, resources  and treatment placement to businesses and residences in the  surrounding communities by 15 percent. BFD and the Mayor’s Office of  Recovery Services team deliver the in-person intervention and overdose  response by trained staff with knowledge and experience in working with  the substance use disorder continuum of care and treatment system.     ● ​Objective: ​Reduce the spread of infectious disease through drug user health and  education.    ○ Activity: ​Increase clean syringe distribution and disposal by expanding  mobile routes and creating Syringe Service Programming (SSP) in ​three  new sites across the city outside of the Massachusetts Avenue and  Melnea Cass Boulevard neighborhood.  ○ Activity: ​Provide monthly HIV/HCV/STI testing events at the  Engagement Center, 112 Southampton and Woods Mullen shelters  through the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Services and NGO partners.  ○ Activity:​ Provide education sessions and materials to at least ​150 ​shelter  guests by December 31, 2019.    GOAL 2B   Increase access and engagement in all modalities of treatment:      7      ● Objective:​ Increase placement in SUD treatment through the PAATHS Program.    Activity: ​Expand the Street Outreach Team by ​eight​ team members to  provide engagement and supported referrals to neighborhood homeless  and service providers. Increase the number of people engaged each  month by ​20 percent from 250 to 300​ people. ○ Activity​: Increase the number of people placed in treatment a week by ​15  percent from 75 to 90​ by the PAATHS program.   ○ Activity: ​Expand the STEP pilot, which provides seamless treatment and  intensive wrap-around supports to homeless participants with SUD, by  50 percent (from 10 participants to 20 participants).      Objective:​ Reduce stigma towards substance use disorder, mental health  disorders, and homelessness.  ○ ●   ○ ○ ○ Activity: ​ Provide monthly trainings to community groups, neighbors,  businesses, city agencies, and program participants on how stigma is  often a barrier to care for those struggling with substance use disorder.  Activity:​ Employ a rotating Consumer Advisory Board of ​six​ program  participants to assist the Street Outreach Team in neighborhood  outreach, syringe disposal, and engagement efforts.  Activity:​ Implement quarterly volunteer nights in Recovery Services  programs to engage residents and community groups.    ● Objective​: Expand access to gender-specific programming and crisis response  services for women.    ○ ○ Activity: ​Expand low-threshold programming for women in the  Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard neighborhood to  provide gender-specific harm reduction, crisis response, and recovery  support services, including services for women who are engaged in sex  work or who have experienced sexual violence.  Activity:​ Work with community partners to identify opportunities to  expand gender-specific programming outside of the Massachusetts  Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard neighborhood.      GOAL 2C  Reduce unsheltered homeless population in the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea  Cass Boulevard area:        8    ● ​Objective​: Improve identification, assessment, engagement and coordination  across partner organizations on the streets and shelters.     ○ ​Activity:​ The Department of Neighborhood Development, Mayor’s Office  of Recovery Services, Boston Public Health Commission and Pine Street Inn  will use street outreach and shelter utilization data to create a targeted list of  40-60 unsheltered persons to be prioritized for assessment, referral and  placement.   ○ ​Activity:​ Agencies above will hold weekly case conferences of individuals  on the targeted list to identify the right intervention and supports to  transition off the streets.     ● ​Objective​: Increase placement of homeless persons from the Massachusetts  Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area into housing or other informal residential  placements.    ○ ​Activity: ​ The Shelter and Street Diversion Team, the Boston Public Health  Commission’s front door triage program and street outreach, will offer  realtime diversion and triage to help people utilizing emergency shelter  resolve housing instability issues quickly, based on the consent of the  individual. Participants may be offered the following:    Short-term assistance    ■ Transportation aid to reconnect with family or social support systems   ■ Flexible funds or other resources to help individuals return to  informal housing options and overcome barriers to relocation   ■ Other resources to facilitate transitions from the streets and shelters  to other programs or residential opportunities, especially clients  seeking to reconnect or return to prior placements or seek  opportunities outside of Boston   ■ Prioritized access to substance use treatment programs through the  PAATHS program    Intermediate assistance    ■ Provide Rapid Rehousing (RRH) for intermediate term shelter stayers  needing up to 24 months of support in order to successfully return to  housing    Long-term assistance        9    ■ Increase Permanent housing solutions and long-term residential  placements for long-term shelter stayers and chronically homeless  unsheltered individuals on the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea  Cass Boulevard priority list.     ● ​Objective:​ Deconcentrate persons in need of services in the Massachusetts  Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area by helping unsheltered individuals move  from the streets into programs.     ○​ Activity: ​Develop a user-friendly resource guide for persons in need of  services that street outreach workers and providers can distribute.  ○​ Activity: ​Develop a resource map for outreach workers, provider  agencies, public health public safety first responders, and community groups  in order to encourage referrals, expedite placements, and strengthen  partnerships to assist persons in need.   ○ ​Activity: ​Encourage clients who are currently disconnected from services  to utilize programs. Shelters, substance use and mental health providers and  others will encourage clients to participate in day programs.  ○ ​Activity:​ Increase referral to day centers throughout the city that offer  counseling, case management and programs to help clients transition from  the streets.   ■ Provide information and referral to persons in need of services about  day programs across the city.   ■ Coordinated Response Team to provide a “warm hand-off” to clients  so that there is a welcoming experience when participating in a new  program.   ■ Provide real time resolution and review for individuals with barriers to  accessing services.  ○ ​Activity: ​Work with faith community to expand low-threshold day  programs that provide welcoming environments, address basic needs (food,  clothing, access to bathrooms, etc), and create referral opportunities.     ○ ​Activity:​ Increase referral to low-barrier Overnight drop-in programs  outside the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area, where  vulnerable people can be safe and get off the street.  ■ Provide information and referral to persons in need about low-barrier  nighttime programs across the city and throughout Greater Boston.  ■ Coordinated Response Team to provide transportation and a “warm  hand-off” of clients so that there is a welcoming experience when  relocating or participating in a new program.  ■ Provide assistance to vulnerable persons in need seeking to reconnect  with support systems in their communities of origin.        10    ○​ Activity:​ Work with State agencies to increase regional winter overflow  beds and ensure prioritization of persons from the streets in the  Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area.  ○ ​Activity: ​Work with City and non-profit partner agencies to explore  expansion of additional low-barrier night time drop-in programs in other  city neighborhoods.       GOAL 2D  Reduce the incidence of weather-related illnesses and exposures:    o Activity: ​Meet basic human needs by providing access to drinking water and  shelter accessible 24 hours a day.  ○ Activity: ​Monitor those on the street for heat and cold-weather related  exposures.          11    FOCUS AREA 3 - QUALITY OF LIFE  GOAL 3A   Reduce discarded syringes, drug paraphernalia and trash in public spaces:     ● Objective:​ Increase options for proper disposal of syringes.    ○ Activity: ​Create incentive program for active users to return syringes to  pick-up locations with the goal of collecting an additional ​1,000​ syringes  per week.    ○ Activity: ​Add up to five additional syringe drop off locations outside.     ● Objective: ​Reduce trash and debris in public spaces through ongoing cleaning  and attention to streets.  ○ Activity: ​Add grounds sweep three times a week by BPHC property  management for all BPHC properties.  ○ Activity:​ Expand collaboration with Project Place and increase area  covered.  ○ Activity: ​ Implement a coordinated neighborhood clean up twice a year  through Love Your Block/ONS.  ○ Activity: ​Daily street cleaning by DPW water truck at 5 a.m. through the  following areas:  ● Worcester Square  ● Massachusetts Avenue (Connector to Harrison)  ● Harrison Avenue (Melnea Cass Boulevard to Massachusetts Avenue  and toward East Newton)  ● Dudley Square  ● Andrew Square  ○ Activity: ​DPW hiring four new employees for a Special Operations Team,  to help keep the ​Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard ​ area  safe and clean, by providing street sweeping, washing, etc. This team will  be deployed in a cross shift plan to operate from midday to early evening  hours.    ○ Activity: ​Individual DPW streeter sweepers (“hokeys”) at attention seven  days a week in the Massachusetts Avenue/South End area.  ○ Activity: ​Scheduled noon time cleans with BPD and the Mobile Sharps  Team at bus depot below Reed Street on Mondays and Thursdays, every  week .      GOAL 3B        12    Strengthen the public health approach to encampments and issues impacting  unsheltered people:    ● Objective:​ Coordinated Response Team will address 311 complaints regarding  substance use disorders/mental health and homelessness; all 311 call center  employees will be trained to ensure that calls are prioritized and forwarded to  the Coordinated Response Team.   ○ Activity: ​Create 311 requests specifically for encampments that  dispatches to Coordinated Response Team in real time.      ● Objective: ​Develop consistent citywide protocol for redirecting encampments.  ○ Activity: ​Coordinated Response Team will take lead on all  encampment related issues;​ ​Implement HELP (Homeless  Encampment Liaison Protocol) training for all City departments and  agencies engaged in encampment management. HELP protocol  entails:   ■ Assess and Assist - With the help of above mentioned  improvements in communications infrastructure, alert relevant  City departments to encampment location and dispatch  officials to assess the encampment for both public safety and  fire hazards and offer assistance to any unsheltered  individuals.   ■ Triage and Refer - Identify unique needs of unsheltered  individuals and refer them to relevant service providers.   ■ Clean up - Remove any debris or hazardous materials from  encampment site within 48 hours of alert.   ○ Activity: ​Expand Boston EMS Squad 80 (non-transport community  service unit) from Monday - Friday day and evening shifts to seven  days a week by the end of October 2019.    GOAL 3C  Enhance beautification efforts in the area to promote positive neighborhood  appearance and maintenance:      ● Objective:​ Create spaces across the neighborhood to create a more welcoming  feel for the area.    ○ Activity​:​ ​Install “welcome” kiosk at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea  Cass Boulevard to provide signage demarcating Newmarket Square  business district, creating a sense of place and information hub for  business owners, residents, etc.      13    ○ ○ ○     ●   Activity:​ Install welcome banners along Melnea Cass Boulevard, creating  a sense of place/identity for this area of the city.  Activity: ​Increase street lighting in the Newmarket Square area.  Activity: ​Assess all city and state owned property in the Massachusetts  Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard neighborhood and create a plan for  maintenance, beautification and upkeep.  Objective:​ Ensure that public open spaces are clean, safe and welcoming:    ○ Activity:​ The Boston Parks and Recreation Department will execute two  thorough cleanings at Clifford Park each weekday at approximately 8 a.m.  and again at 2 p.m. (before school begins and before school gets out).  Parks will also assign additional crews on the weekends to do additional  maintenance at the park.   ○ Activity: ​Parks to replace Clifford Park playground wood chips/fibar  mulch for new safety surfacing and to execute complete redesign of the  park in partnership with the Lewis Family Foundation.  ○ Activity​: Institute Safe Corridors initiative to help maintain school  properties and playgrounds are safe and free of dangerous debris. Safe  Corridors would be a formalized volunteer effort to maintain safety  around schools in hotspot areas. The program would be a collaboration  between the City, businesses and community members and would aim to  provide extra support and welcoming route for students traveling to and  from school. Volunteers would opt to patrol routes around schools at the  start and end of the school day or to keep watch from their homes or  businesses.        14    FOCUS AREA 4 - PUBLIC SAFETY  GOAL 4A   Reduce criminal activity through coordinated efforts in and around the  Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area:    ● Objective: ​Address criminal activity in and around services in the Massachusetts  Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area through the strategic, data-driven  deployment of more officers and sergeants.     ○ Activity: ​Strategic deployment of BPD officers to fixed posts around the  Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area based on  assessment of hotspots, and increased deployment of Citywide Bike Unit  and officers on foot.    ■ Four officers and one supervisor will be deployed to a fixed  post in District D4 South End for a day and evening shift (7:30  a.m. to 11:45 p.m.), assigned to patrol the area of Worcester  Square through Massachusetts Avenue. These officers are  supported by additional Code 19 assignments in this area by  other district units when available.    ■ Three officers and one supervisor will be deployed to a fixed  post in the area of Southampton Street and Massachusetts  Avenue 24 hours a day in District C6 South Boston.  ■ Citywide Bicycle Unit will be deployed with a new focus on the  areas of Worcester Square, Massachusetts Avenue, Melnea  Cass Boulevard and Harrison Avenue, as well as Blackstone,  Franklin and Ramsay parks.    ■ Two bicycle officers will be deployed to fixed posts in the  Dudley Station area, and one Anti-crime unit with two officers  will be deployed to the areas of Melnea Cass Boulevard  through Massachusetts Avenue. The Anti-crime patrol includes  the Orchard Gardens School, the Mason School and Clifford  Park. All officers will patrol 24 hours a day.  ○ Activity​: Biweekly meetings to assess crime statistics (i.e. drug arrests,  burglary, etc.) ​specifically in the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass  Boulevard area​ and determine strategic deployments for following week.   ○ Activity: ​Continued focus on designated areas by the Drug Control Unit  targeting persons responsible for distributing drugs. Diversion to  treatment options where possible for low level, non-violent offenders, i.e.  person buying and possessing drugs.  ○ Activity: ​Officers will be working with partners in the Mayor’s Office of  Recovery Services, the Department of Neighborhood Development, and      15    ● ●   ● Pine Street Outreach Teams to proactively engage people struggling with  substance use, homelessness, or mental health to offer services including  treatment and housing services.     Objective: ​BPD will lead coordination of all public safety and security teams in  the neighborhood.    ○ Activity​: Monthly public safety meeting to review crime data and trends  and coordinate efforts aimed at maximizing a coordinated public safety  response in the neighborhood.  ○ Activity​: Ensure ongoing training in de-escalation, overdose response,  crisis intervention when working with SUD/MH populations.    Objective​: BPD effort to focus on criminal activity in adjoining neighborhoods in  key targeted hot spot.    ○ Activity: ​Strategic deployment of BPD officers to hotspots in adjoining  neighborhoods.  ○ Activity: ​Increased deployment of bike patrols and officers on foot.  Objective: ​Ensure the safety of staff and guests at BPHC shelters.    ○ Activity:​ Assign ​two ​public safety officers to daily 3 - 11 p.m. shifts at  Wood Mullens post.     GOAL 4B   Increase Diversion Options in coordination with public health services:     ● Objective:​ Enhance the capacity of BPD Street Outreach Unit.    o Activity: ​Increase the number of officers from ​two to five ​officers and  add one sergeant on unit to provide ​10​ referrals to treatment per week.  With the addition of these three officers we will be able to expand our  outreach and cover more areas of the city. This will greatly increase the  Unit’s ability to offer intervention and services to more individuals. These  officers will be an added resource to support the district stations by  responding to calls for service and 311 concerns involving Substance Use  Disorder, Mental Health and Homelessness.    o Activity:​ Provide outreach hotline to BPD Districts C6, B2, D4 to ensure  connection to Outreach Unit for support.    ● Objective:​ Increase public health approach to public safety       16      ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Activity: ​Add ​two ​ coordinated walking routes with BPD and Recovery  Services Outreach team two mornings per week to engage​ five ​ people  per week in care.  Activity:​ Increase BEST Team Co-response teams from​ five to seven ​ to  assist officers with mental health related calls for service.    Activity: ​Increase PAARI Recovery Coach Co-response teams from ​two  to five ​covering day and evening shifts.    Activity: ​Increase number of officers trained in Crisis Intervention  Training (CIT) or similar training that addresses interaction with pp  experiencing SUD and MH issues.  Activity: ​Continue building relationships with treatment facilities to  increase access to beds and treatment resources.    Activity: ​Assess the feasibility of expanding legal services to assist in  resolving outstanding legal issues that are barriers to employment,  housing and treatment, could be modeled on Judge Coffey’s homeless  court.             17