November 18, 2025 • 37 mins
The intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue (Mass & Cass) is an area in Boston that has long attracted a large number of people struggling with homelessness and drug addiction. It’s remained an ongoing challenge for local leaders for years. What's the best strategy for cleaning up Mass and Cass? MA Sen. Nick Collins has introduced a bill, An Act Relative to Life-Saving Treatment (S.1042) in hopes of tackling how best to help those struggling at Mass and Cass. It's an act that offers a clear, compassionate, and comprehensive fix to how involuntary commitment is handled in Massachusetts. Sen. Collins checked in with Dan to discuss.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WVS Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Welcome back everyone, Thank you very much Dan Watkins.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
As we move into our first talk hour here on Nightside,
we're going to open up a subject that we have
talked about frequently. It is a subject that the city,
a problem the city has not been able to solve.
And Massachusetts State Senator Nick Collins has a couple of
ideas for those of you who are not familiar with
(00:33):
the area in Boston called Mass and Cast. It's Massachusetts
Avenue and Melina Cass Boulevard, and it is basically an
open drug market where people who are dealing with some
very serious addictions inject drugs, use drugs. There's an open
air drug use, violence, et cetera. And Nick Collins, a
(00:57):
state senator whose district actually compasses Mass and Cass, has
some ideas. We have talked with people from the Boston
South End, which is contiguous to Mass and Casts, about
how they have found people literally in their homes break
having broken into their homes overnight. One woman at a
(01:18):
public meeting a few weeks ago talked about someone from
Mass and Cass literally defecating on her living room floor
when she got up in the morning, that person was
taking care of business. I mean, it's insane that this
has gone on as long as it's gone on, and
with us now is stay. Senator Nick Collins wrote a
(01:38):
piece in the Boston Herald entitled Treatment First, Best Strategy
for Mass and Cass.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Senator Collins, welcome back to Nightside.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
How were you tonight, Dae mcdan, thank you very much
for having me on. It's a pleasure to be with you.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, right back at you.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So you have filed a bill in the Senate called
an Act relative to Life Saving Treatment. I want to
talk about that, but I also want to talk about
this idea that we talked about a few weeks ago,
that you're suggesting the city should buy a now decommissioned
cruise liner and use that in effect as a treating
(02:20):
hospital in Boston Harbor for these folks from Mass and
cast As everybody knows, there was a bridge that went
over to Quinsy that no longer exists, and a lot
of people are saying that we should build a bridge.
Let's start off with the legislation. There are three elements
of the legislation as I read it. Why don't you
(02:41):
lay those out for us and see what people think
about the legislative proposals that you're recommending.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Well, thank you Dan for having me on and the
covering this topic. It's very important and as we contend
to see, no end in sight interventions required. So we
have a situation where the Long Island facilities are still
out of reach given a legal dispute over the bridge,
(03:10):
in the conditions of the facilities, so as a far
off option, and this proposal at Shadow Hospital that has
been unable to come to fruition, which is likely to
go back up to bid, tells us we don't have
an immediate solution on land or on an island, and
(03:32):
so we pivoted off of that, and in combination with
MIT's Naval Construction and Marine Engineering program in the United
States Navy, who did a research project on converting a
cruise vessel to affordable housing, we pivoted using the history
(03:53):
of Boston when in the turn of the century we
had a city growing rapidly with all the facilities to
accommodate the medical needs of people regardless of their income,
and they had the floating hospital that was created by
(04:14):
medical residents at Harvard University and philanthropists to provide that
access to people who you know, tuberculosis was running rampant
in the city and young young people, young young children
were dying in the streets. And so the people at
massocasts are the children of our state. And in this
whole motion, you know in the city and said, oh,
(04:36):
they're not from Boston, They're from the commonwel from Massachusetts.
And this is the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue in Melnia
Caste Boulevard. So trying to say they're on os is
outrageous and I don't accept that. I also think that
we have the ability here in Boston, with the medical
(04:57):
capital of the world, to be strategic and sophisticated and
define both short term and long term solutions. And so
this proposal came forward with the help of MIT and
through the Depowerment Mental Health, and showed us that we
have the ability to acquire at a modest cost a
fracture of the cost of rehabilitating Long Island, which is
(05:19):
a billion dollars all day long, to provide access to services,
to facilities, to housing the people in need that are
combination of victims and perpetuating crimes and unsustainable situation, whether
(05:45):
it's in the South End, South Boston, Dorchester Luxury. The
legislative proposal of two Poles one is to provide access
to those facilities, and we have that study online and
it can be funded a fraction of the costs or
any other proposal that's been made so far.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Yeah, I think the number that I had seen you
quoted was somehow you could buy one of these decommissioned
cruise liners for something like twenty five million dollars.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Was that the number that that.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
So the acquisition would actually be smaller than that, but
the conversion and the annual cost would be a fraction
of what it would require to be building a bridge,
building out Long Island or building the facility. So the
important thing to know is in the aftermath of the pandemic,
when nobody wanted to be on a cruise vessel, they
(06:36):
had a strategy of two bolt you know, complete retrofitting
of existing vessels which at a certain point became not
cost effective, and building new vessels. And so there's a
huge secondary market where we could acquire one and a
fraction of the cost it would have been in the past,
(06:57):
converted us in six weeks. This is me talking, This
is folks at MIT engineers and naval engineers that put
forth this study of fort Pot their names on it,
admitted to the legislature and the calm other Massachusetts and
says this is what we can accomplish in six weeks
to satisfy your needs. Then they meet the standards of
(07:20):
the Department Mental Health, the standards of the Department of
Public Health, and their combination of ut patient and inpatient treatment.
So the other part of the legislative proposal that you
discussed is an act knows the lifestanding treatment. It's just
three things, because we have a system in Massachusetts that
allows people to perpetually continue to overdose and be put
(07:44):
back on our streets. It's just two things. Either victimize
themselves or someone else with lands them in jail or
lands them in the emergency room. The twenty five hundred
people a year in Boston overdose on average, is there
a couple of peaks that have shown higher numbers on average,
which is basically you know your round up, fifty people
(08:06):
a week are over those things and brought to an
emergency room.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
That's that's twenty five hundred people a year that we
know of.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
No, no, no, no, and that's suppose these are government statistics.
Now there are plenty of people out there because the
response so far from the city and state is pawing
off citizens. Please arm yourselves with knock cam. Right, Well,
we just put out needles and pump out everything possible,
crack pipes. We're publicly spending money on crackpipes. I can't believe.
(08:41):
It's like the Hunger Games at this stage. So that
has to stop that. People with Downtown said this has
to stop. In the South, Vana says this has to
stop everybody, which common sense says it has to stop.
Tax dolls on things like that. I don't even know
how you procure that. We understand how Johnson and Johnson
and cooperations like that produce needles for hospitals. And if
(09:04):
someone's you know, you know, ask me for an allotment,
you give the Department of Public Health or you know,
public Health Commission. Okay, you know, we would like to
be accommodated with a certain number of these to mitigate disease.
Who procure us the correct types? That's not in the menu.
So that's some story for conversation the other day. But
(09:26):
you know, makes your question of what the heck's going on?
What we can do? There's three things. On an adventure
send the government on overdoses, we rescue people and what
happens they go to the hospital. Up until recently they
were sold by the physicians. Here listen, here's some options
for you. Do some homework, make the best decision in
(09:49):
your life today and got speed. Now we have you know.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
You're an addic. Do we expect you to make good decisions?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Right?
Speaker 4 (10:03):
The best decision of your life on the worst day
of your life. I mean it's the same. So now
we have repriverity coach and navigators in the room that
helped people make these decisions voluntarily. Well, this legislation says
three things. Before we have discharged to the streets, and
the line's share of this is burdened by DNC, Tusts
(10:26):
Medical Center and MGH bull. You are saying we're going
to discharge through the street. You need an evaluation by
a social worker who under a chapter once fronty three,
Section thirty five, as an authority to involuntary commit somebody
who has demonstrated an ability to be dangerous themselves of
(10:47):
the public based off this substance use or misuse, abuse
or whatever the phrases that people are comfortable with, and
that's important that that check happens. Some of the license
that is required to make an evaluation saying, oh, where's
this person going next? As they're going right back out
(11:08):
from whence they came, So we continue this cycle? Well,
should we call a TV timeout and put them on
the right path?
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Let's required, Senator, let me do this because I got
a commercial break. I don't want to interrupt you, but
I have to. Uh, we're covering a lot of ground,
which is great. I hope this will also generate people
who may have questions or want to support your ideas here.
I mean, this is the first set of ideas that
any of the political leaders seem to have come up with.
(11:38):
You've obviously spent a lot of time on it, and
I want people to understand it and if they want
to join the conversation and ask questions or commend you
for an effort here that I think actually might produce
some results. Nothing has happened so far, that's for sure.
Six one seven, two, five, four ten thirty or six
one seven, nine three one ten thirty. We'll be back
(11:58):
with Massachusetts States Senator Nick Collins mass and casts in
his district. He has some substanative proposals here which would
change the rules of engagement, and I think they would
change in a positive direction. And the idea of buying
a cruise ship you could actually house people overnight who
(12:19):
are in treatment programs, and it's it's going to save
lives and maybe put people. You always hear these stories
about people who have gotten off the needle and they
have gone on to do great things. This is what
this is all about. We'll be back with Nick Collins
and also some of your phone calls. I hope six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty six one seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty.
(12:41):
This is Nightside. My name is Dan Ray, rob Brooks.
Await your calls coming back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
It's Nightside with Dan Ray on w Boston's news radio.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
With US is Massachusetts State Senator Nick Collins, who represents
a substantial part of Boston, all the way from parts
of Beacon Hill out through the South End of course
over in South Boston his home base. He has developed
a piece of legislation here that I hope the legislature
will look at seriously. What he's talking about is basically
(13:16):
allowing individuals who are facing involuntary commitment to attend court
hearings remotely. I think that's a good idea, meaning they
do not have to physically drag themselves into a court,
but they still have to be there remotely. As you
wrote a neuonical, this removes a major logistical and emotional
(13:38):
barrier during moments of serious medical or psychiatric crisis. And
the second part is what you were just talking about,
that anyone who survives an overdose is minty to a hospital,
must be evaluated by a licensed social worker before discharge.
What's the third element of your legislation dealing with court
ordered treatment and discharge?
Speaker 4 (14:01):
You know that that's really important and thank you for
Dan for highlighting this, and it is an important element
because both the physicians of social workers, who are the
people who outside of family ninety five percent of people
who make a petition or family, we need the other
people to step in public safety, public health social workers
(14:22):
who have been uncomfortable other than public safety up to
this point. And I think removing the court situation, and
this happened throughout the pandemic small claims court civil cases
were dealt with LOSI remotely whether it was in a
library in a district, or it was the Zoom or
one of those programs like teams, and so that removed
(14:44):
a significant element of concern because if people gonna get
brought up there in shackles and it's a civil case,
you know that there's some apprehension from certain people to
remove that element. Yeah, remove that element. So it's a
to D hospital treatment facility. On the back end is
the weakness right now in the law. If a judge
(15:10):
makes a ninety day commitment based off of a petition,
the superintendent of the facility has the ability to make
a judgment call and say that this person is equipped
because they made the discretionary determination to be discharged as freak.
(15:31):
So we talked about you know, and a lot of
folks who push back on in voluntarie amitment cites this
Harvard study that says, all, if you're you're involvetary commitment,
you're more likely to suffer a relapse. It's not about
involuntary commitment, it's about your time and treatment. If you're
discharged early, you're more likely to be relapsing. So what
(15:54):
this piece, the third piece requires is that the judge
who made the determined they need a ninety eight commitment.
After a pinition makes a recommendation for the Department of
Mental Health and the order is given, you removed this
unilateral determination by a essentially to be a government or
(16:19):
non government bureaucraft not required to be a medical position
to suggest that you're okay because your vital suggests that,
because the targe writing system, because you're detoxed, and there's
someone waiting on the other side of that facility probably
looking at get in with only two weeks of guarantee
(16:41):
coverage in the healthcare industry, So this third part says,
if you're going to give someone an early discharge before
the ninety eight commitment, you need to sign off from
the judge right now, that's not required. I don't know
any other part about law that allows somebody else, a civilian,
(17:02):
to overrule a judge's order. Well, I think right now exist. Yeah,
discharges people get back out to the street long before
they're equipped to take on their lives and without support,
and more often than not, people relapse, and that's what
we see people going back into the cycle.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I think no matter what we talk about here, we
talk about giving cracked pipes to people. We talk about
giving needles to them, we're essentially enabling them to engage
in destructive and potentially fatal behavior. And I think that
philosophically that hasn't worked. And the folks who want to
perceive that they're big hearted and they're trying to help people,
(17:47):
they're hurting people.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
And I think it is time.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
For the legislature to turn around and say, look, this
is a problem. It affects other parts of communities. It
affects the hospital district down by Boston, the medical center.
It affects kids who are trying to go to school,
It affects women who are trying to walk in a
neighborhood community.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
This is pretty serious.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
It wouldn't be tolerated in Wellesley and West and Nick,
you know that, and I know that, But somehow it
is tolerated in Boston. And the people who are feeling
the greatest impact not only are constituents in your district
at near mass and cast, whether it's South End or
South Boston. And I think this proposal is a brilliant proposal.
And I also think the idea of the cruise ship
(18:31):
is going to save money and be much more effective.
And I have no idea if there are enough political
leaders up on Beacon Hill or in the City of
Boston who will take these proposals seriously and act upon them.
I got to take a break for news. You've explained this.
I'm hoping to hear from people with questions and comments.
(18:53):
My view is we need to have some tough love.
I have some questions myself about why we can't get
a wing of Shadow Hospital operational, why the Massachusetts State
Hospital in Matta pancon be uh utilized, And there may
be good answers, and I may be back up not
up to date on all of that, but I'm sure
you are. We'll talk about that, and we'll take calls
(19:15):
six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty six one seven, nine, three,
one ten thirty Donna from Northborough, you will be first
up on the other side, and did not want to
short change you. This is serious. This affects all of us,
and it's time that we as a society say enough
is enough. The coddling of people, any one of us
could be there bire for the grace of God goes
(19:37):
all of us. But the coddling of people who find
themselves trapped in this quick sceand of addiction. We have
to stop. We have to help them, and the best
way to help them is give them some serious treatment options, uh,
and make them understand that there is life after addiction
and it's a hell of a lot better than sitting
(19:58):
on their butts at mass and cass every day of
the week, pumping poison into the advans. My name's Dan Ray.
This is nights Side. Feel free to join the conversation,
whether you agree or disagree. Coming back with Massachusetts State
Senator Nick Collins right after this.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm WBZ Boston's news Radio
Nick Collins.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I think we've explained that we got some good phone calls.
Let's get right to it. Okay, yes, sir, all right,
let's go. You don't have to call me sir, pe
just call me Dan.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
That's all I gotta call you. Senator though.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Let me go first off to Donna in Northborough. Donna,
thanks for getting us going tonight. Say hi to Massachusetts
State Senator Nick Collins.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Hi, Dan, Hi, Senator Collins, thanks for taking on this
issue both of you. It's really really important. I was
having to deal with that when I was bringing my
dad in for cancer treatments at Boston Medical and it
was very scary the area. So one of the first
questions I have for you, Senator Collins, is everything that
(21:05):
you're talking about right now is this viewable or is
it sort of in the works? Is the legislature is
it written up so that I could look at it?
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Yeah? So the study. Yeah, so that's a great question.
So the facts on the costs and logistics about the
cruise vessel are you publicly available on the website and
Dan can share that with you on his website the link,
and if you want to reach out to my office tomorrow,
(21:39):
we can do that as well. And the impetus to
this is this, so in I think it's twenty seventeen,
you may recall the explosion of the gas infrastructure of
Merrimack Valley required us to essentially import workers to the
state too rapidly you build that infrastructure and there's only
(21:59):
so much hotel space. So the company, and it was
Columbia Gas, ended up leasing a cruise vessel that was
doctor in the South Boston waterfront in morning and night
three shifts put people on bosses to marri my Valley
came into Boston, you know, on the on the on
(22:21):
the three shifts to be housed there because there was
no other place to put them. Nobody knew about it
until they left, and so the impact is key here too.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
By the way, Nick, that's the first time that I've
ever heard about this. This is this is a great
precedent for your idea. And by the way, I'm going
to suggest to Donna that she contact your office because
she will be able to get the information directly. I
didn't mean to interrupt you, but I had never heard
that story. I remember a friend of mine lost his
house in that explosion, so I remember vividly.
Speaker 6 (22:56):
You know.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
And it was significantly a thousand. We had a thousand
people we had to put up on a cruise ship
essentially to uh on three shifts get up there in
the Merrimack Valley, and there was not enough hotel thems.
So the number try office is six one seven seven
two two one one five zero in costs tomorrow, or
can email me Nick dot Collins at m A Santa
(23:18):
dot gov. We'll get you in the link to the study.
It's viable again, not my don't take my word for it.
Take mit. In the United States Navy's word for it.
This project was not funded by the masters legislature or
the state. It was carried by the United States Navy
blessed by the Secretary of the Navy, so they felt
strongly about it. But the impact is key here because
(23:41):
we discussed these types of facilities, where do they go
the NIMBYism that is likely to come and and and
most of justifiable. And there's a there's a fight inquisites
for the same reason. There's a fighting Jamaica plane for
the same reason. Unshadow, while we're sorting that all out,
we'll take let's here.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
Yeah, there's nobody get on the ocean that's going to
be a nimmy about it.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Right.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Yes, for the climate Axipisota, it is climate resistance.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Uh n, hold on for one second. I want to
the office number that you gave and I want people
to reach out for information is six one seven seven
two two one one five zero correct, that's right, Okay,
and give us your email address. And I want Rob
to write this down as well. It's Nick dot com at.
Speaker 4 (24:38):
M A, Senate mass Uh you know the the all
one word ye A Senate do you ob okay?
Speaker 3 (24:46):
G O V so Nick dot Collins at M A
Senate dot g o v Donna. I think it's a
great idea and I uh, I hope that the legis
to will start to think outside the box. You because
these poor people who were left to the streets to
their own device, they're incapable of helping themselves at this point,
(25:10):
and to giving them, patting them crack pipes and needles
does nothing but enable them. It's like giving a drunk,
you know, a six pack and saying, you know, go
knock yourself out.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
And Senator Colin, what are your biggest obstacles do you think?
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Well, our biggest offs those are politics, and that's been
the biggest challenge we have. Too much in the last
number of years has been politicizing. You know, there's a phrase,
you know, we can't put politics for public safety, and
that's true and I buy by that creed as well.
We can't book public health. We can't book politics for
(25:48):
public health, which has happened, which is why we're giving
out you know, well why others have authorized giving out
I should say, crack pipes. So if we're were our
time in the data around how wen and what is
medically appropriate and you know, there's this political discussion about
uh involuntary commitment, and they try to, you know, misdirect
(26:13):
the discussion about what that means. Oh, if you're giving
an involvetary commitment, your more luckily to overdose. So if
you are given involvetary commitment or not involvetary commitment and
you don't serve the amount of time that you need
to in treatment or sobriety, your more luckily to relapsed. Yeah,
(26:35):
that's true, it's what the involuntary voluntary. Interestingly enough, they
do not mention a Duke study. Duke Medical School came
up with a sudden that said, if you participate in
involuntary outpatient treatment, not you're gonna be in a facility
for ninety days and you can't leave. But if you
day by day come and go to required treatment, you
(27:01):
are more alliwedly to sustain your recovery. That's logic, sure,
but it's also backed up by a medical study. They
don't discuss to do study, not because it's something an
amazing addiction line, but because certain people don't think it
aligns with their politics. That's wrong.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
Yeah, how much does liability come into play on this?
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Well, that's a great question, and I have waged war
on the notion of we need to have faith injection
sites because being puffs up earlier. The more hopelessness that
exists from larvae and citizens about the status quo. There
are certain people who hope they'll wave the white slag
(27:46):
and say, I'll stay anything, any thought in the storm.
Give me something, even if it's against my principles or
values or even the laws of the Commonwealth. Give me
something that will redirect this. So that's why there's this,
you know, openness to safe conjuction sites. The disaster everywhere
it's happened. Cannas said no thanks with them with this
(28:09):
Portugal the mess, so you know there's the failure everywhere
that's happened, which you know, the march of Fally should
come into place at a certain point, but that's not challenge.
And so I think that what we need to do
in my up a species is this constant of housing first,
(28:29):
treatment last, treatment first. Over the last ten years, treatment
has been a dirty word. How do we know Section
thirty five positions have plummeted in the last seven years
because there's been an effort by the public health industrial
complex to say, no, we can't force people to treatment.
(28:50):
We can't intervene effectively. We should just follow people until
they come to that conclusion themselves on meth that's impossible.
So you know we have to fight that and we
are and so liability. Last session, the proposal was we
would like to have the ability to have safe injection sites,
(29:12):
and municipowers us tumbled. I asked the people of some
of the representatives who testify that the erring so in
portal that they make you sign a waivers as the
person coming to the door. So you remove liability. So
now the musipality owns it and the state owns it.
What do you do about that? Oh, they change the
proposal of the session. They have every physician in every
(29:36):
person in ball the absolved of liability. Dan, you'll appreciate
this qualified immunity, so that that issue came about with
public safety a number of years ago about where the
public safety officials that have qualified immunity. Now they want
qualified immunity to open up these safe injection sites. Now
(29:59):
we've you know, bought this proposal and I'm gonna continue
to do that, bege hell. But that's the that's the
rub you brought up liability. The position on the planners,
who wants to accept that liability the session when that
was when that was also that was part of the legislation.
Now the mathematical says, well, we're not opposed to it.
(30:19):
The post does not no longer on the our liability
in this proposal, which is wrong. No liability. And you're
basically saying, please come off the street. After you pursue
illegal drugs somehow, some way, usually through prostitution or or
another illegal act to bring in illegal drugs, probably brought
(30:43):
you from south of the border or from some other
place to destroy our society, We're gonna say, yes, please,
if you get there, we're gonna let you in the
front door like a cafe and support you doing that
all day long. It's totally insane.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
We're gonna fight that question of senator leadership.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Have they taken a position on this, because obviously it's
always important. We're we're the senate in the House leadership.
Rest Did I lose him there?
Speaker 5 (31:18):
I'm jilli.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
Yeah, you know he's going to call back. Don I
gotta let you go because I'm way past my break.
I thank you for calling in. You have the information.
We get in touch with them tomorrow. Thank you so
much appreciate it. Well, we well, we uh restore contact
with Senator Collins. Well, take a very quick break that
Lola coming up on the other side. We'll be back
on night side with Senator Masters. That stay, Senator Nick Collins.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Right after this, you're on night side with Dan Ray
on Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Let's keep browling.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
We have a Senator Nick Collins back in the line
with us. Nick, we lost it there for a moment.
A quick question. Has the Senate leadership in any indicated
to you as to whether or not they're going to
support this, because obviously they'll support is key to this.
Speaker 4 (32:04):
Go well because of the proponent on the judge. This
bill was a sign of the Judiciary, which is a
tough committee to get through. We did get unionimous support
from the Judiciary Committee, so it is on its way
and it isn't with the Senate Healthcare Finance Committee, which
I think is an important place to have this discussion
(32:24):
because I believe that part of the challenge has been
this fourteen day coverage and whether or not that's covered
by mass health like this seems to be everything else's
you know, it is important for the organizations and institutions
that are providing the service. So we do need to
check that box, so to speak. But you know, I
(32:46):
think the most important piece of this is what are
we gonna do? We do the same thing. We've actually,
you know, been able to mitigate a lot of the
issues that have prevented a facility.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
You're moving in the right You're moving in the right direction,
which is important.
Speaker 6 (33:03):
Nick.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
I got Lola in San Diego, so I want to
get her in. She's been waiting a while. Lola, say
hello to Massachusettstate Senator Nick Collins.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
What's your camming? A question?
Speaker 6 (33:13):
Hi, Sanator Collins. So what happens on the West coast
happens on the east coast in vice versa. Yesterday, I
went to get my prescriptions at the drug store and
a strip mall, and I saw this guy coming towards me.
He was about forty yards away, homeless, disabled, pushing a wheelchair.
(33:36):
He collapses falls down right in front of the cookie
store that I went into, and I'm like, I can't
get out of here. He fell right in front of
the door. The guy says to me, oh, he's a regular.
Speaker 4 (33:48):
He goes.
Speaker 6 (33:48):
Let me call the police so they know him. And
my point is, now you have the EMTs. This guy
had gang Green. He told me the cookie guy that
owns the store he goes, don't get near him. He's
got Gangreen. And I'm like, what now you get the
e MTV's the firemen coming risking their lives when this
(34:10):
guy could have been put on a beautiful ship and
taken care of. So I know you're in Massachusetts, but
this has to come all the way to the West
Coasta because wherever there's water you can put one of
those cruise ships. And not only how's people that need
help with the drugs, but all the criminals are going
(34:34):
to be coming out with the Epstein file investigations. Where
you're gonna put them? Where are they gone?
Speaker 3 (34:39):
I don't want to open We talked about understand, well,
I think you're not going to put criminals on cruise ships.
I think you're going to put criminals.
Speaker 6 (34:50):
They're going to become jail. They're going to become floating jails.
Speaker 7 (34:53):
Absolutely well maybe, but I'll tell you you know, I
I want to use the cruise ships for what nick
Is told talk quick comment had to say.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
Try to still them. Maybe they need to open that place.
But we'll say San Diego was part of the inspiration
with this idea. So San Diego was a major Navy footprint,
as you know. The City of San Diego petitioned the
Navy to say, hey, give us some help with this
homelessness issue. What do we do? So they sent their
(35:26):
recommend their requests through the Navy to the m I
T No construction in the Marine Engineering Program, which is
what we built our requests off of. They already had
a study a few years before that said hey, what
does it cost to convert and and wants the feasibility
that it's converting a cruise ship for affordable housing and
(35:47):
for homeless and housing for the city of San Diego.
So we actually piggybacked up of that came up with
our proposal that we sentioned in the state budget. But
luckily with the grace and the and the buy in
from the United States Naval Secretary and m I T
was done for free. So it wasn't a possible free
(36:07):
I should say that it wasn't an Accosta com wolf
and he absorbed it and and so. But the impetus
was it was a inspiration I should say, was out
of the city of San Diego's request of the Navy,
who has a major foot print in San Diego about homelesses.
So this is all doable. And here's here's the other interesting.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Point, Nick, Nick, I got an interesting thing, which is
which I'm totally running out of time here.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
To do this, and that's why these are important.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
All right, Uh, Lola, thank you for the call once again,
Diego Boston connection. Thanks thanks Lola, Nick, thank you very much.
Keep us posted on this. We'll well, we will stay
right with you on this and try to push it
as much as we can, both the legislation and the
proposal for the cruise ship. I think they had two
good ideas, and you're one of the few politicians up
(36:56):
there who was actually thinking outside the box and coming
up with proposals as opposed to just talking about the problems.
You're actually trying to solve the problems.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
And for that I.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Appreciate and I know you can stituents appreciate it as well.
Thank you, my friend. We will talk to him, Okay,
appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (37:13):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
You're welcome. Thanks Nick.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
We'll get back when we talk about that guilty plea
partial guilty plea. Today in the Brian Wallace case, Brian
Walsh case, Pardon me, this is an amazing story. We'll
be talking with the Turney Phil Tracy right after the
ten o'clock News
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WVS Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Welcome back everyone, Thank you very much Dan Watkins.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
As we move into our first talk hour here on Nightside,
we're going to open up a subject that we have
talked about frequently. It is a subject that the city,
a problem the city has not been able to solve.
And Massachusetts State Senator Nick Collins has a couple of
ideas for those of you who are not familiar with
(00:33):
the area in Boston called Mass and Cast. It's Massachusetts
Avenue and Melina Cass Boulevard, and it is basically an
open drug market where people who are dealing with some
very serious addictions inject drugs, use drugs. There's an open
air drug use, violence, et cetera. And Nick Collins, a
(00:57):
state senator whose district actually compasses Mass and Cass, has
some ideas. We have talked with people from the Boston
South End, which is contiguous to Mass and Casts, about
how they have found people literally in their homes break
having broken into their homes overnight. One woman at a
(01:18):
public meeting a few weeks ago talked about someone from
Mass and Cass literally defecating on her living room floor
when she got up in the morning, that person was
taking care of business. I mean, it's insane that this
has gone on as long as it's gone on, and
with us now is stay. Senator Nick Collins wrote a
(01:38):
piece in the Boston Herald entitled Treatment First, Best Strategy
for Mass and Cass.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Senator Collins, welcome back to Nightside.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
How were you tonight, Dae mcdan, thank you very much
for having me on. It's a pleasure to be with you.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, right back at you.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So you have filed a bill in the Senate called
an Act relative to Life Saving Treatment. I want to
talk about that, but I also want to talk about
this idea that we talked about a few weeks ago,
that you're suggesting the city should buy a now decommissioned
cruise liner and use that in effect as a treating
(02:20):
hospital in Boston Harbor for these folks from Mass and
cast As everybody knows, there was a bridge that went
over to Quinsy that no longer exists, and a lot
of people are saying that we should build a bridge.
Let's start off with the legislation. There are three elements
of the legislation as I read it. Why don't you
(02:41):
lay those out for us and see what people think
about the legislative proposals that you're recommending.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Well, thank you Dan for having me on and the
covering this topic. It's very important and as we contend
to see, no end in sight interventions required. So we
have a situation where the Long Island facilities are still
out of reach given a legal dispute over the bridge,
(03:10):
in the conditions of the facilities, so as a far
off option, and this proposal at Shadow Hospital that has
been unable to come to fruition, which is likely to
go back up to bid, tells us we don't have
an immediate solution on land or on an island, and
(03:32):
so we pivoted off of that, and in combination with
MIT's Naval Construction and Marine Engineering program in the United
States Navy, who did a research project on converting a
cruise vessel to affordable housing, we pivoted using the history
(03:53):
of Boston when in the turn of the century we
had a city growing rapidly with all the facilities to
accommodate the medical needs of people regardless of their income,
and they had the floating hospital that was created by
(04:14):
medical residents at Harvard University and philanthropists to provide that
access to people who you know, tuberculosis was running rampant
in the city and young young people, young young children
were dying in the streets. And so the people at
massocasts are the children of our state. And in this
whole motion, you know in the city and said, oh,
(04:36):
they're not from Boston, They're from the commonwel from Massachusetts.
And this is the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue in Melnia
Caste Boulevard. So trying to say they're on os is
outrageous and I don't accept that. I also think that
we have the ability here in Boston, with the medical
(04:57):
capital of the world, to be strategic and sophisticated and
define both short term and long term solutions. And so
this proposal came forward with the help of MIT and
through the Depowerment Mental Health, and showed us that we
have the ability to acquire at a modest cost a
fracture of the cost of rehabilitating Long Island, which is
(05:19):
a billion dollars all day long, to provide access to services,
to facilities, to housing the people in need that are
combination of victims and perpetuating crimes and unsustainable situation, whether
(05:45):
it's in the South End, South Boston, Dorchester Luxury. The
legislative proposal of two Poles one is to provide access
to those facilities, and we have that study online and
it can be funded a fraction of the costs or
any other proposal that's been made so far.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Yeah, I think the number that I had seen you
quoted was somehow you could buy one of these decommissioned
cruise liners for something like twenty five million dollars.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Was that the number that that.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
So the acquisition would actually be smaller than that, but
the conversion and the annual cost would be a fraction
of what it would require to be building a bridge,
building out Long Island or building the facility. So the
important thing to know is in the aftermath of the pandemic,
when nobody wanted to be on a cruise vessel, they
(06:36):
had a strategy of two bolt you know, complete retrofitting
of existing vessels which at a certain point became not
cost effective, and building new vessels. And so there's a
huge secondary market where we could acquire one and a
fraction of the cost it would have been in the past,
(06:57):
converted us in six weeks. This is me talking, This
is folks at MIT engineers and naval engineers that put
forth this study of fort Pot their names on it,
admitted to the legislature and the calm other Massachusetts and
says this is what we can accomplish in six weeks
to satisfy your needs. Then they meet the standards of
(07:20):
the Department Mental Health, the standards of the Department of
Public Health, and their combination of ut patient and inpatient treatment.
So the other part of the legislative proposal that you
discussed is an act knows the lifestanding treatment. It's just
three things, because we have a system in Massachusetts that
allows people to perpetually continue to overdose and be put
(07:44):
back on our streets. It's just two things. Either victimize
themselves or someone else with lands them in jail or
lands them in the emergency room. The twenty five hundred
people a year in Boston overdose on average, is there
a couple of peaks that have shown higher numbers on average,
which is basically you know your round up, fifty people
(08:06):
a week are over those things and brought to an
emergency room.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
That's that's twenty five hundred people a year that we
know of.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
No, no, no, no, and that's suppose these are government statistics.
Now there are plenty of people out there because the
response so far from the city and state is pawing
off citizens. Please arm yourselves with knock cam. Right, Well,
we just put out needles and pump out everything possible,
crack pipes. We're publicly spending money on crackpipes. I can't believe.
(08:41):
It's like the Hunger Games at this stage. So that
has to stop that. People with Downtown said this has
to stop. In the South, Vana says this has to
stop everybody, which common sense says it has to stop.
Tax dolls on things like that. I don't even know
how you procure that. We understand how Johnson and Johnson
and cooperations like that produce needles for hospitals. And if
(09:04):
someone's you know, you know, ask me for an allotment,
you give the Department of Public Health or you know,
public Health Commission. Okay, you know, we would like to
be accommodated with a certain number of these to mitigate disease.
Who procure us the correct types? That's not in the menu.
So that's some story for conversation the other day. But
(09:26):
you know, makes your question of what the heck's going on?
What we can do? There's three things. On an adventure
send the government on overdoses, we rescue people and what
happens they go to the hospital. Up until recently they
were sold by the physicians. Here listen, here's some options
for you. Do some homework, make the best decision in
(09:49):
your life today and got speed. Now we have you know.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
You're an addic. Do we expect you to make good decisions?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Right?
Speaker 4 (10:03):
The best decision of your life on the worst day
of your life. I mean it's the same. So now
we have repriverity coach and navigators in the room that
helped people make these decisions voluntarily. Well, this legislation says
three things. Before we have discharged to the streets, and
the line's share of this is burdened by DNC, Tusts
(10:26):
Medical Center and MGH bull. You are saying we're going
to discharge through the street. You need an evaluation by
a social worker who under a chapter once fronty three,
Section thirty five, as an authority to involuntary commit somebody
who has demonstrated an ability to be dangerous themselves of
(10:47):
the public based off this substance use or misuse, abuse
or whatever the phrases that people are comfortable with, and
that's important that that check happens. Some of the license
that is required to make an evaluation saying, oh, where's
this person going next? As they're going right back out
(11:08):
from whence they came, So we continue this cycle? Well,
should we call a TV timeout and put them on
the right path?
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Let's required, Senator, let me do this because I got
a commercial break. I don't want to interrupt you, but
I have to. Uh, we're covering a lot of ground,
which is great. I hope this will also generate people
who may have questions or want to support your ideas here.
I mean, this is the first set of ideas that
any of the political leaders seem to have come up with.
(11:38):
You've obviously spent a lot of time on it, and
I want people to understand it and if they want
to join the conversation and ask questions or commend you
for an effort here that I think actually might produce
some results. Nothing has happened so far, that's for sure.
Six one seven, two, five, four ten thirty or six
one seven, nine three one ten thirty. We'll be back
(11:58):
with Massachusetts States Senator Nick Collins mass and casts in
his district. He has some substanative proposals here which would
change the rules of engagement, and I think they would
change in a positive direction. And the idea of buying
a cruise ship you could actually house people overnight who
(12:19):
are in treatment programs, and it's it's going to save
lives and maybe put people. You always hear these stories
about people who have gotten off the needle and they
have gone on to do great things. This is what
this is all about. We'll be back with Nick Collins
and also some of your phone calls. I hope six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty six one seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty.
(12:41):
This is Nightside. My name is Dan Ray, rob Brooks.
Await your calls coming back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
It's Nightside with Dan Ray on w Boston's news radio.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
With US is Massachusetts State Senator Nick Collins, who represents
a substantial part of Boston, all the way from parts
of Beacon Hill out through the South End of course
over in South Boston his home base. He has developed
a piece of legislation here that I hope the legislature
will look at seriously. What he's talking about is basically
(13:16):
allowing individuals who are facing involuntary commitment to attend court
hearings remotely. I think that's a good idea, meaning they
do not have to physically drag themselves into a court,
but they still have to be there remotely. As you
wrote a neuonical, this removes a major logistical and emotional
(13:38):
barrier during moments of serious medical or psychiatric crisis. And
the second part is what you were just talking about,
that anyone who survives an overdose is minty to a hospital,
must be evaluated by a licensed social worker before discharge.
What's the third element of your legislation dealing with court
ordered treatment and discharge?
Speaker 4 (14:01):
You know that that's really important and thank you for
Dan for highlighting this, and it is an important element
because both the physicians of social workers, who are the
people who outside of family ninety five percent of people
who make a petition or family, we need the other
people to step in public safety, public health social workers
(14:22):
who have been uncomfortable other than public safety up to
this point. And I think removing the court situation, and
this happened throughout the pandemic small claims court civil cases
were dealt with LOSI remotely whether it was in a
library in a district, or it was the Zoom or
one of those programs like teams, and so that removed
(14:44):
a significant element of concern because if people gonna get
brought up there in shackles and it's a civil case,
you know that there's some apprehension from certain people to
remove that element. Yeah, remove that element. So it's a
to D hospital treatment facility. On the back end is
the weakness right now in the law. If a judge
(15:10):
makes a ninety day commitment based off of a petition,
the superintendent of the facility has the ability to make
a judgment call and say that this person is equipped
because they made the discretionary determination to be discharged as freak.
(15:31):
So we talked about you know, and a lot of
folks who push back on in voluntarie amitment cites this
Harvard study that says, all, if you're you're involvetary commitment,
you're more likely to suffer a relapse. It's not about
involuntary commitment, it's about your time and treatment. If you're
discharged early, you're more likely to be relapsing. So what
(15:54):
this piece, the third piece requires is that the judge
who made the determined they need a ninety eight commitment.
After a pinition makes a recommendation for the Department of
Mental Health and the order is given, you removed this
unilateral determination by a essentially to be a government or
(16:19):
non government bureaucraft not required to be a medical position
to suggest that you're okay because your vital suggests that,
because the targe writing system, because you're detoxed, and there's
someone waiting on the other side of that facility probably
looking at get in with only two weeks of guarantee
(16:41):
coverage in the healthcare industry, So this third part says,
if you're going to give someone an early discharge before
the ninety eight commitment, you need to sign off from
the judge right now, that's not required. I don't know
any other part about law that allows somebody else, a civilian,
(17:02):
to overrule a judge's order. Well, I think right now exist. Yeah,
discharges people get back out to the street long before
they're equipped to take on their lives and without support,
and more often than not, people relapse, and that's what
we see people going back into the cycle.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I think no matter what we talk about here, we
talk about giving cracked pipes to people. We talk about
giving needles to them, we're essentially enabling them to engage
in destructive and potentially fatal behavior. And I think that
philosophically that hasn't worked. And the folks who want to
perceive that they're big hearted and they're trying to help people,
(17:47):
they're hurting people.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
And I think it is time.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
For the legislature to turn around and say, look, this
is a problem. It affects other parts of communities. It
affects the hospital district down by Boston, the medical center.
It affects kids who are trying to go to school,
It affects women who are trying to walk in a
neighborhood community.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
This is pretty serious.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
It wouldn't be tolerated in Wellesley and West and Nick,
you know that, and I know that, But somehow it
is tolerated in Boston. And the people who are feeling
the greatest impact not only are constituents in your district
at near mass and cast, whether it's South End or
South Boston. And I think this proposal is a brilliant proposal.
And I also think the idea of the cruise ship
(18:31):
is going to save money and be much more effective.
And I have no idea if there are enough political
leaders up on Beacon Hill or in the City of
Boston who will take these proposals seriously and act upon them.
I got to take a break for news. You've explained this.
I'm hoping to hear from people with questions and comments.
(18:53):
My view is we need to have some tough love.
I have some questions myself about why we can't get
a wing of Shadow Hospital operational, why the Massachusetts State
Hospital in Matta pancon be uh utilized, And there may
be good answers, and I may be back up not
up to date on all of that, but I'm sure
you are. We'll talk about that, and we'll take calls
(19:15):
six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty six one seven, nine, three,
one ten thirty Donna from Northborough, you will be first
up on the other side, and did not want to
short change you. This is serious. This affects all of us,
and it's time that we as a society say enough
is enough. The coddling of people, any one of us
could be there bire for the grace of God goes
(19:37):
all of us. But the coddling of people who find
themselves trapped in this quick sceand of addiction. We have
to stop. We have to help them, and the best
way to help them is give them some serious treatment options, uh,
and make them understand that there is life after addiction
and it's a hell of a lot better than sitting
(19:58):
on their butts at mass and cass every day of
the week, pumping poison into the advans. My name's Dan Ray.
This is nights Side. Feel free to join the conversation,
whether you agree or disagree. Coming back with Massachusetts State
Senator Nick Collins right after this.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm WBZ Boston's news Radio
Nick Collins.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I think we've explained that we got some good phone calls.
Let's get right to it. Okay, yes, sir, all right,
let's go. You don't have to call me sir, pe
just call me Dan.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
That's all I gotta call you. Senator though.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Let me go first off to Donna in Northborough. Donna,
thanks for getting us going tonight. Say hi to Massachusetts
State Senator Nick Collins.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Hi, Dan, Hi, Senator Collins, thanks for taking on this
issue both of you. It's really really important. I was
having to deal with that when I was bringing my
dad in for cancer treatments at Boston Medical and it
was very scary the area. So one of the first
questions I have for you, Senator Collins, is everything that
(21:05):
you're talking about right now is this viewable or is
it sort of in the works? Is the legislature is
it written up so that I could look at it?
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Yeah? So the study. Yeah, so that's a great question.
So the facts on the costs and logistics about the
cruise vessel are you publicly available on the website and
Dan can share that with you on his website the link,
and if you want to reach out to my office tomorrow,
(21:39):
we can do that as well. And the impetus to
this is this, so in I think it's twenty seventeen,
you may recall the explosion of the gas infrastructure of
Merrimack Valley required us to essentially import workers to the
state too rapidly you build that infrastructure and there's only
(21:59):
so much hotel space. So the company, and it was
Columbia Gas, ended up leasing a cruise vessel that was
doctor in the South Boston waterfront in morning and night
three shifts put people on bosses to marri my Valley
came into Boston, you know, on the on the on
(22:21):
the three shifts to be housed there because there was
no other place to put them. Nobody knew about it
until they left, and so the impact is key here too.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
By the way, Nick, that's the first time that I've
ever heard about this. This is this is a great
precedent for your idea. And by the way, I'm going
to suggest to Donna that she contact your office because
she will be able to get the information directly. I
didn't mean to interrupt you, but I had never heard
that story. I remember a friend of mine lost his
house in that explosion, so I remember vividly.
Speaker 6 (22:56):
You know.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
And it was significantly a thousand. We had a thousand
people we had to put up on a cruise ship
essentially to uh on three shifts get up there in
the Merrimack Valley, and there was not enough hotel thems.
So the number try office is six one seven seven
two two one one five zero in costs tomorrow, or
can email me Nick dot Collins at m A Santa
(23:18):
dot gov. We'll get you in the link to the study.
It's viable again, not my don't take my word for it.
Take mit. In the United States Navy's word for it.
This project was not funded by the masters legislature or
the state. It was carried by the United States Navy
blessed by the Secretary of the Navy, so they felt
strongly about it. But the impact is key here because
(23:41):
we discussed these types of facilities, where do they go
the NIMBYism that is likely to come and and and
most of justifiable. And there's a there's a fight inquisites
for the same reason. There's a fighting Jamaica plane for
the same reason. Unshadow, while we're sorting that all out,
we'll take let's here.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
Yeah, there's nobody get on the ocean that's going to
be a nimmy about it.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Right.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Yes, for the climate Axipisota, it is climate resistance.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Uh n, hold on for one second. I want to
the office number that you gave and I want people
to reach out for information is six one seven seven
two two one one five zero correct, that's right, Okay,
and give us your email address. And I want Rob
to write this down as well. It's Nick dot com at.
Speaker 4 (24:38):
M A, Senate mass Uh you know the the all
one word ye A Senate do you ob okay?
Speaker 3 (24:46):
G O V so Nick dot Collins at M A
Senate dot g o v Donna. I think it's a
great idea and I uh, I hope that the legis
to will start to think outside the box. You because
these poor people who were left to the streets to
their own device, they're incapable of helping themselves at this point,
(25:10):
and to giving them, patting them crack pipes and needles
does nothing but enable them. It's like giving a drunk,
you know, a six pack and saying, you know, go
knock yourself out.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
And Senator Colin, what are your biggest obstacles do you think?
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Well, our biggest offs those are politics, and that's been
the biggest challenge we have. Too much in the last
number of years has been politicizing. You know, there's a phrase,
you know, we can't put politics for public safety, and
that's true and I buy by that creed as well.
We can't book public health. We can't book politics for
(25:48):
public health, which has happened, which is why we're giving
out you know, well why others have authorized giving out
I should say, crack pipes. So if we're were our
time in the data around how wen and what is
medically appropriate and you know, there's this political discussion about
uh involuntary commitment, and they try to, you know, misdirect
(26:13):
the discussion about what that means. Oh, if you're giving
an involvetary commitment, your more luckily to overdose. So if
you are given involvetary commitment or not involvetary commitment and
you don't serve the amount of time that you need
to in treatment or sobriety, your more luckily to relapsed. Yeah,
(26:35):
that's true, it's what the involuntary voluntary. Interestingly enough, they
do not mention a Duke study. Duke Medical School came
up with a sudden that said, if you participate in
involuntary outpatient treatment, not you're gonna be in a facility
for ninety days and you can't leave. But if you
day by day come and go to required treatment, you
(27:01):
are more alliwedly to sustain your recovery. That's logic, sure,
but it's also backed up by a medical study. They
don't discuss to do study, not because it's something an
amazing addiction line, but because certain people don't think it
aligns with their politics. That's wrong.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
Yeah, how much does liability come into play on this?
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Well, that's a great question, and I have waged war
on the notion of we need to have faith injection
sites because being puffs up earlier. The more hopelessness that
exists from larvae and citizens about the status quo. There
are certain people who hope they'll wave the white slag
(27:46):
and say, I'll stay anything, any thought in the storm.
Give me something, even if it's against my principles or
values or even the laws of the Commonwealth. Give me
something that will redirect this. So that's why there's this,
you know, openness to safe conjuction sites. The disaster everywhere
it's happened. Cannas said no thanks with them with this
(28:09):
Portugal the mess, so you know there's the failure everywhere
that's happened, which you know, the march of Fally should
come into place at a certain point, but that's not challenge.
And so I think that what we need to do
in my up a species is this constant of housing first,
(28:29):
treatment last, treatment first. Over the last ten years, treatment
has been a dirty word. How do we know Section
thirty five positions have plummeted in the last seven years
because there's been an effort by the public health industrial
complex to say, no, we can't force people to treatment.
(28:50):
We can't intervene effectively. We should just follow people until
they come to that conclusion themselves on meth that's impossible.
So you know we have to fight that and we
are and so liability. Last session, the proposal was we
would like to have the ability to have safe injection sites,
(29:12):
and municipowers us tumbled. I asked the people of some
of the representatives who testify that the erring so in
portal that they make you sign a waivers as the
person coming to the door. So you remove liability. So
now the musipality owns it and the state owns it.
What do you do about that? Oh, they change the
proposal of the session. They have every physician in every
(29:36):
person in ball the absolved of liability. Dan, you'll appreciate
this qualified immunity, so that that issue came about with
public safety a number of years ago about where the
public safety officials that have qualified immunity. Now they want
qualified immunity to open up these safe injection sites. Now
(29:59):
we've you know, bought this proposal and I'm gonna continue
to do that, bege hell. But that's the that's the
rub you brought up liability. The position on the planners,
who wants to accept that liability the session when that
was when that was also that was part of the legislation.
Now the mathematical says, well, we're not opposed to it.
(30:19):
The post does not no longer on the our liability
in this proposal, which is wrong. No liability. And you're
basically saying, please come off the street. After you pursue
illegal drugs somehow, some way, usually through prostitution or or
another illegal act to bring in illegal drugs, probably brought
(30:43):
you from south of the border or from some other
place to destroy our society, We're gonna say, yes, please,
if you get there, we're gonna let you in the
front door like a cafe and support you doing that
all day long. It's totally insane.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
We're gonna fight that question of senator leadership.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Have they taken a position on this, because obviously it's
always important. We're we're the senate in the House leadership.
Rest Did I lose him there?
Speaker 5 (31:18):
I'm jilli.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
Yeah, you know he's going to call back. Don I
gotta let you go because I'm way past my break.
I thank you for calling in. You have the information.
We get in touch with them tomorrow. Thank you so
much appreciate it. Well, we well, we uh restore contact
with Senator Collins. Well, take a very quick break that
Lola coming up on the other side. We'll be back
on night side with Senator Masters. That stay, Senator Nick Collins.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Right after this, you're on night side with Dan Ray
on Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Let's keep browling.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
We have a Senator Nick Collins back in the line
with us. Nick, we lost it there for a moment.
A quick question. Has the Senate leadership in any indicated
to you as to whether or not they're going to
support this, because obviously they'll support is key to this.
Speaker 4 (32:04):
Go well because of the proponent on the judge. This
bill was a sign of the Judiciary, which is a
tough committee to get through. We did get unionimous support
from the Judiciary Committee, so it is on its way
and it isn't with the Senate Healthcare Finance Committee, which
I think is an important place to have this discussion
(32:24):
because I believe that part of the challenge has been
this fourteen day coverage and whether or not that's covered
by mass health like this seems to be everything else's
you know, it is important for the organizations and institutions
that are providing the service. So we do need to
check that box, so to speak. But you know, I
(32:46):
think the most important piece of this is what are
we gonna do? We do the same thing. We've actually,
you know, been able to mitigate a lot of the
issues that have prevented a facility.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
You're moving in the right You're moving in the right direction,
which is important.
Speaker 6 (33:03):
Nick.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
I got Lola in San Diego, so I want to
get her in. She's been waiting a while. Lola, say
hello to Massachusettstate Senator Nick Collins.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
What's your camming? A question?
Speaker 6 (33:13):
Hi, Sanator Collins. So what happens on the West coast
happens on the east coast in vice versa. Yesterday, I
went to get my prescriptions at the drug store and
a strip mall, and I saw this guy coming towards me.
He was about forty yards away, homeless, disabled, pushing a wheelchair.
(33:36):
He collapses falls down right in front of the cookie
store that I went into, and I'm like, I can't
get out of here. He fell right in front of
the door. The guy says to me, oh, he's a regular.
Speaker 4 (33:48):
He goes.
Speaker 6 (33:48):
Let me call the police so they know him. And
my point is, now you have the EMTs. This guy
had gang Green. He told me the cookie guy that
owns the store he goes, don't get near him. He's
got Gangreen. And I'm like, what now you get the
e MTV's the firemen coming risking their lives when this
(34:10):
guy could have been put on a beautiful ship and
taken care of. So I know you're in Massachusetts, but
this has to come all the way to the West
Coasta because wherever there's water you can put one of
those cruise ships. And not only how's people that need
help with the drugs, but all the criminals are going
(34:34):
to be coming out with the Epstein file investigations. Where
you're gonna put them? Where are they gone?
Speaker 3 (34:39):
I don't want to open We talked about understand, well,
I think you're not going to put criminals on cruise ships.
I think you're going to put criminals.
Speaker 6 (34:50):
They're going to become jail. They're going to become floating jails.
Speaker 7 (34:53):
Absolutely well maybe, but I'll tell you you know, I
I want to use the cruise ships for what nick
Is told talk quick comment had to say.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
Try to still them. Maybe they need to open that place.
But we'll say San Diego was part of the inspiration
with this idea. So San Diego was a major Navy footprint,
as you know. The City of San Diego petitioned the
Navy to say, hey, give us some help with this
homelessness issue. What do we do? So they sent their
(35:26):
recommend their requests through the Navy to the m I
T No construction in the Marine Engineering Program, which is
what we built our requests off of. They already had
a study a few years before that said hey, what
does it cost to convert and and wants the feasibility
that it's converting a cruise ship for affordable housing and
(35:47):
for homeless and housing for the city of San Diego.
So we actually piggybacked up of that came up with
our proposal that we sentioned in the state budget. But
luckily with the grace and the and the buy in
from the United States Naval Secretary and m I T
was done for free. So it wasn't a possible free
(36:07):
I should say that it wasn't an Accosta com wolf
and he absorbed it and and so. But the impetus
was it was a inspiration I should say, was out
of the city of San Diego's request of the Navy,
who has a major foot print in San Diego about homelesses.
So this is all doable. And here's here's the other interesting.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
Point, Nick, Nick, I got an interesting thing, which is
which I'm totally running out of time here.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
To do this, and that's why these are important.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
All right, Uh, Lola, thank you for the call once again,
Diego Boston connection. Thanks thanks Lola, Nick, thank you very much.
Keep us posted on this. We'll well, we will stay
right with you on this and try to push it
as much as we can, both the legislation and the
proposal for the cruise ship. I think they had two
good ideas, and you're one of the few politicians up
(36:56):
there who was actually thinking outside the box and coming
up with proposals as opposed to just talking about the problems.
You're actually trying to solve the problems.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
And for that I.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Appreciate and I know you can stituents appreciate it as well.
Thank you, my friend. We will talk to him, Okay,
appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (37:13):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
You're welcome. Thanks Nick.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
We'll get back when we talk about that guilty plea
partial guilty plea. Today in the Brian Wallace case, Brian
Walsh case, Pardon me, this is an amazing story. We'll
be talking with the Turney Phil Tracy right after the
ten o'clock News
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com