State to set up temporary housing for Mass/Cass homeless at Shattuck Hospital campus in Franklin Park

The authorities adjacent period volition acceptable up a "temporary cottage community" connected the grounds of Shattuck Hospital successful Franklin Park to location and attraction for up to 30 radical who present unrecorded - oregon effort to unrecorded - successful tents on Methadone Mile, authorities Health and Human Services Secretary Mary Lou Sudders said today.

In email to advocates, Sutter said the authorities is buying "18 backstage lockable sleeping cabins, each with 1 oregon 2 beds, idiosyncratic clime power and retention for possessions" from a institution called Pallet - which says the units tin beryllium acceptable up successful arsenic small arsenic an hour. And:

The authorities volition besides declaration with a section wellness and quality work supplier to supply contiguous onsite services, specified arsenic meals, laundry, lawsuit absorption and intelligence wellness and addiction services, with the extremity of supporting residents successful their modulation from the streets to imperishable lodging and longer-term stability. The supplier volition besides beryllium liable for wide oversight of the community, including 24/7 security, arsenic the information of the residents arsenic good arsenic infirmary staff, patients and the surrounding neighborhoods is paramount. The lodging is expected to beryllium operational successful December.

Sudder added:

The Temporary Cottage Community, though temporary, represents the archetypal signifier of implementation of the longer-term plans for supportive lodging and services envisioned connected the campus.

Under existent plans, the authorities says it volition move each existent in-patient aesculapian and psychiatric programs astatine Shattuck to a gathering connected the Boston Medical Center field and past lease the Shattuck grounds for instauration of "supportive housing" and public- and behavioral wellness programs.

The plans are opposed by parkland and open-space advocates, who accidental the 13-acre tract should beryllium re-integrated with the remainder of Franklin Park arsenic parkland. They person suggested the authorities absorption its attraction connected the abandoned erstwhile MBTA office astatine adjacent Arborway autobus gait for societal services.