The Somerville Public Health and Public Safety Committee discussed their ongoing efforts to address homelessness in Somerville in a meeting on Nov. 12.
Jeffrey DiGregorio, Somerville police department captain, shared the department’s initiatives to increase police presence.
“Beginning in August 2024 in partnership with Mayor Ballantyne and the administration, we instituted 24 hour [per] day, direct patrols in Davis Square, with emphasis on Seven Hills and Statue Park. As of [Nov. 7], several police officers have conducted 997 directed patrols.”
DiGregorio informed the council that 21 arrests have been made in Davis Square since August, including arrests for narcotic distribution and violent crime.
“In the last four weeks, we’ve actually seen a decrease in calls from the same period last year, so it is working,” DiGregorio said.
Antanavica Nick, Director of Inspectional Services in Somerville, said that his department had witnessed the same trend. There has been a decrease in the number of calls received and a nearly 200% drop in the amount of items picked up between September and October, Nick said.
Hannah O’Halloran, supportive services case manager at the Somerville Homeless Coalition, said the wraparound services provided by the Health and Human Services Department and the Homeless Coalition made a significant impact. She said that since January, the Engagement Center has seen over 6,000 visits, which is significantly more visits than last year, when they saw just over 4,000 visits.
“Getting people into housing, getting people more engaged inside the Engagement Center, as well as placing people into different shelter locations has helped with what was happening in Davis Square,” she said.
She also informed the council that the Somerville Homeless Coalition has housed 16 individuals since July, including individuals from Davis Square and East Somerville. She highlighted how financial support from the City of Somerville, including the use of American Rescue Plan Act funds to establish the Engagement Center and bolster the street outreach team, has significantly improved the situation in Davis Square.
Somerville Police Chief Shumeane Benford echoed the importance of wraparound services. He reminded the council that law enforcement plays a crucial role in a balanced approach when combined with human services.
“We know that by not providing wraparound services, by not engaging with our partners, we know that invariably, we will only push people to another location, only displacing the issue and the problem,” Benford said.
New initiatives included needle drop sites, reopening a winter warming center and plans for an overdose prevention center. The council discussed plans to install three sharps containers, with one in Seven Hills and two in West and East Somerville.
As for the overdose prevention center, few updates were provided, though meeting participants expressed commitment to pursuing this goal in the future. The council reviewed a timeline for opening the winter warming center in the Cummings School building.
“The city is committed to having a warming center, so we’re going to have one, and we’re excited to get all the details of that to the public very soon,” Kimberly Hutter, legislative liaison for Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, said.
The Daily spoke to two Somerville residents, Rona Fischman and Richard, to compare their perspectives on the trajectory of homelessness in Somerville with those of the council.
“I’m not comfortable around the police, but I think the police needed to have a presence there because it really was quite awful there,” Fischman said. “I haven’t seen any needles. I haven’t seen any other inappropriate behavior since September, so I think it’s changed. But in the summer, the porta potty was gross, … and there was a lot of using and there was obviously dealing. I know women who were walking out of their way to not come through that park and that’s the direct way between my house and the T stop.”
Richard said that they have noticed a decrease in individuals experiencing homelessness around Statue Park.
“The park behind the Davis Square Station was having an increase in visible homeless encampments over the summer. I do think I’ve noticed less setups there, [but] there’s still a general congregation fairly regularly at Statue Park,” they said.
Fischman acknowledged the role of the Somerville Homeless Coalition and other wraparound services in addressing the problem in Davis Square, while also recognizing the importance of using law enforcement when necessary.
“It’s complicated because I don’t want to criminalize homelessness because it’s not a crime to be homeless [and] it’s not a crime to be poor, but then it got mixed in with open drug dealing, and unfortunately, the police are the mechanism for stopping open drug dealing,” Fischman said.
Fischman also commended the work of the Somerville Homeless Coalition and expressed support for an increase in city funding for the organization.
“[The] Somerville Homeless Coalition is doing a tremendous job, but it’s emptying the ocean with a teaspoon. It doesn’t even have a bucket to empty the ocean with,” she said. “And Somerville needs to be supporting the wraparound services, not just saying,‘We’ve got them.’”
