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LYNN Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) —The City of Lynn announced Thursday the formation of a health and safety task force to address homelessness, substance use disorders, and mental health crises.
“We need this task force to let us know what else we can be doing to address this critical issue and come up with a realistic long-term plan,” Mayor Jared Nicholson said in a press release. “We have made meaningful progress in adding housing, better integrating behavioral health with our public safety work and enhancing downtown enforcement operations, but clearly there is still a significant problem. When we recognize that, we can’t stand by. It is time to act more vigorously and with different strategies.”
The city identified the issues that the task force will address as “escalating risks” to public health and community safety.
From August of 2025 to August of this year, Lynn police received over 9,400 calls for the downtown area, resulting in 463 arrests and over 800 charges for various crimes. According to the press release, the police are expected to receive at least that many calls again this year.
Many Lynn residents think the task force is needed. Common complaints include increased reports of violence and amounts of trash in the city.
“It was worse 20, 30 years ago, but we’ve still got a problem,” one resident said.
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojas.bsky.social) reports.