Dear Mayor Wu,

Very few of us could thrive, let alone survive, without our own bed to sleep in, a door to lock behind us, or any of the other essential elements of daily living that only a permanent home can provide. In this largely unregulated housing market, where housing and other costs are rising much faster than wages, more and more people are experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness every day. And due to this country’s history of intentionally unequitable housing policies, homelessness unequitably impacts BIPOC and other marginalized communities. The only difference between anyone reading or signing this petition and anyone in the “Mass & Cass” community are our levels of trauma and our access to power and privileges. And the longer people live without permanent housing, the harder it is for them to stabilize and heal once they’re home. In fact, most of the things that we associate with homelessness (poor hygiene, crime, mental health, and substance use issues) are directly caused, at least in part, by the trauma and instability of not having a safe, permanent home. Homelessness is an entirely preventable public health crisis, and it is 100% solvable.

The purpose of this petition is to insist on the evidence-based systemic and structural investments and improvements that we believe, and evidence and lived experience indicate, will significantly reduce and/or end homelessness in Boston/at Mass & Cass. 

Specifically:

·         Ensure sufficient low threshold permanent supportive housing for every individual and family experiencing persistent homelessness in Boston, and for people experiencing issues with physical or emotional health and/or substance dependence that impact their ability to access/maintain housing

·         Center the self-determination and voices of people with lived experience in all design, implementation, and evaluation of housing and substance use programs and all related policies and services

·         Transition from a Criminal Justice to a Transformative Justice approach Harmful behaviors are caused by unhealed trauma or desperation for resources. Arresting and incarcerating people is deeply traumatizing and erects even more barriers to health and self-sufficiency. Incarceration has even been shown to traumatize entire families and communities, inflicting permanent psychological damage that even worsens physical health, increases substance dependence, and reduces lifespans, for generations. 

·         Ensure universal access to trauma-informed, warm, nonjudgmental, culturally humble and competent emotional healthcare Homelessness and other unhealed trauma has been shown to significantly increase vulnerability to mental health issues, substance dependence, and even physical health issues. Yet the majority of people experiencing homelessness, and even many people with private insurance, have no ability to access the kind of strengths-based, non-judgmental, warm, trustworthy emotional healthcare that evidence indicates is critical for healing from trauma.

·         Collect de-identified “By-Name” data regarding everyone experiencing homelessness in the City of Boston, in addition to or instead of point-in-time data Point-in-time data only captures how many people are identified sleeping outside or in shelter, one night each year. Evidence shows that by-name data, which consists of holistic information about everyone experiencing homelessness in a city, enables systems to better match each individual and family’s needs with what they need to stabilize, heal, and thrive.

·         Research indicates that trauma survivors use substances to be able to tolerate the excruciating symptoms of their unhealed trauma. Research also shows that forced treatment and incarceration significantly increase risk of relapse and overdose. Forced abstinence needs to end, section 35’s need to be reformed/ended, and access to trauma-informed, evidence/harm reduction-based, non-judgmental substance dependence treatment/Medically Assisted Treatment (suboxone, methadone, etc.) needs to significantly increase

·         Everyone experiencing homelessness and/or emotional/behavioral health issues and/or substance dependence is a human with amazing qualities, as well as people they care about and who care about them. Naloxone and Overdose Prevention Centers make fatal overdoses 100% preventable, so it is our ethical and moral responsibility to make them accessible to everyone who needs them. 

Homelessness often feels unsolvable because we haven’t been trying to heal it’s causes, we’ve only been punishing or putting Band-Aids on its symptoms. If we want to break this vicious cycle, we need to take an ENTIRELY new, systems-wide approach that connects everyone experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity with a streamlined housing and service delivery system that effectively connects everyone impacted with the resources and supports they need to heal and thrive. The drafters of this petition, the Mental Health & Substance Use Special Interest Group of the National Association of Social Workers’ Massachusetts Chapter, would be glad to meet with you in any capacity to explain and discuss our recommendations further, and in the meantime please reach out to compassionism2022@gmail.com with any questions or requests for supplemental evidence. Our group is comprised of many experts in housing, substance dependence, public health, criminal justice, etc., and we are confident that, with effective collaboration, together we can create a peaceful and beautified Mass & Cass area, and Boston in general. And not by further traumatizing people with punishment, isolation, judgment, and control, but by finally supporting them with everything they need to heal, thrive, and rejoin their families and communities.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration and we look forward to speaking with you soon,

The MH&SU SIG of the NASW-MA and our many colleagues and community members