Photo: Karyn Regal
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Officials from the City of Boston will begin removing tents from homeless encampments along the area near Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, known as Mass. and Cass, on Monday.
The plan includes a general cleanup of the area, citing health, environmental, and sanitary concerns. Fliers posted in the area tell people to have all of their items removed from the area by Monday morning.
While the city does plan to remove most of the tents in the area, they said will not remove the tents or shelter of anyone who they cannot place in a form of temporary housing.
This clean up and plan is a response to an executive order passed by Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey last Tuesday. This order declared homelessness and substance abuse disorder a public health crisis in the city.
The order declared that tents and other forms of temporary housing structures would not be allowed on public ways in the city. A central command structure established by the order consisting of state and city officials will work to identify places for shelter and treatment options for anyone living in the encampments.
Read More: A Look Inside The Situation At Mass. & Cass
"Tents are not appropriate for housing," Janey said at the announcement of the order. "These tents have become places where women have been assaulted, where people are potentially overdosing, and it his hard for our outreach teams because they are growing in number."
The order said people will not be forcibly removed from tents by law enforcement unless it is a last resort.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasWBZ) reports from Mass. and Cass.
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