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Critical Analysis on Homelessness on Methadone Mile in Boston

Background

Also known as Recovery Road or Mass & Cass, Methadone Mile is an open-air drug
scene in Boston, MA. It is located near the junction of two major streets: Melnea Cass
Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue, hence “Mass & Cass”. Methadone Mile dates back to
at least October 2014 when the Mayor of Boston decided to close down the Long Island
Bridge which was near collapse (Vivant, 2020; Redmond, 2021). The move forced the
residents of Long Island, who were among the city’s poorest, and the organizations that
supported them to vacate the island. As a result, at least seven hundred people ended up in
Methadone Mile. Thus, besides battling drug and substance abuse, the occupants of
Methadone Mile are homeless.
Social workers, especially through the Recovery Services unit of the Boston Public
Health Commission, have tried to alleviate the sufferings of the occupants of Methadone
Mile. For example, the Commission’s social workers run an “engagement center” at the
scene, a large white tent that mimics home living (Redmond, 2021). The center has
necessities for the homeless: washrooms and showers, water and refreshments, snacks, chairs,
TVs and computers among others. People are even allowed to doze off in the corners.
However, through their indifference, just like other members of the helping professions in the
area (including those at the nearby Boston Medical Center), social workers have helped
exacerbate the unjust conditions of Methadone Mile occupants.

Analysis

To respond to the drug and homelessness crises, the authorities have adopted several
policies, including a policy of preserving and creating affordable housing and one of
punishing drug use through incarceration (Redmond, 2021). Unfortunately, rather than help

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alleviate the social injustice, these policies and their poor implementation have only served to
perpetuate the social injustice. For example, despite being one of the richest cities in the
country and allocating millions of dollars, the city has been unable to deliver enough
affordable housing (Redmond, 2021). Meanwhile, the authorities seem to prioritize
punishment over care. For example, overlooking Methadone Mile is the imposing Suffolk
County House of Corrections. It has 674 cells and 1,892 beds, and serves thousands of hot
meals every day. Down the road, the Woods-Mullen shelter for women has only 200 beds
while the Southampton shelter for men has just 400. Neither serves food.
It would appear that the main reason these policies have been ineffective in
addressing the social injustice faced by the occupants of Methadone Mile is the top-down
approach taken in their formulation and implementation, with little involvement of the
affected people and those who support them. For example, had the city authorities engaged
the occupants of the area and those who care for them, they would not have closed down the
much-needed Comfort Station they had opened in early 2020 in response to the onset of the
Covid-19 pandemic (Redmond, 2021). Under these circumstances, a better policymaking
framework such as the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) would go a long way toward
alleviating the social injustice. As one of its greatest strengths, and unlike traditional
approaches to policymaking, ACF emphasizes stakeholder participation (Fischer, Miller, &
Sidney, 2007).
However, despite the policy failures, many organizations and communities have
stepped up to address the social injustice. Besides the efforts of Boston Public Health
Commission described earlier, there are two methadone clinics in the area: Health Care
Resource Centers Boston and Boston Comprehensive Treatment Center (Redmond, 2021).
These distribute free methadone, a medicine used to manage opioid dependence, six days a
week. In addition, a church group put up a rack of free clothing, from which they also hand

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out free bottled water and fresh fruits. A mobile sharps team collects and disposes discarded
syringes.
The strategies and tactics used by most of these organizations and communities is to
address the immediate and lower-cost needs of the occupants of Methadone Mile: food,
temporary shelter, clothing and treatment. However, they are all in agreement that beyond
these meeting these needs, ultimately, what these people need is permanent, affordable
housing (Redmond, 2021). It is for this reason that the social workers at the Boston Public
Health Commission are working closely with housing agencies to help their clients access
housing.

A Proposed Intervention

Beyond the help that is currently being offered to the occupants of Methadone Mile,
there is an opportunity for the social workers involved to engage in anti-oppressive practices
in order to augment current efforts. For example, many occupants have wondered why
government agencies involved in housing the homeless cannot come to them at Methadone
Mile and why they must visit offices, their disadvantaged position notwithstanding. Given
this, the social workers could mobilize and organize the hundreds of homeless people in
Methadone Mile, thereby giving them the power and voice they need to engage with the
housing agencies (Burke & Harrison, 2002).

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References

Burke, B., & Harrison, P. (2002). Anti-oppresive Practice. In R. Adams, L. Dominelli, & M.
Payne, Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates (pp. 131-138). Basingstoke:
Palgrave MacMillan Ltd.
Fischer, F., Miller, G. J., & Sidney, S. M. (2007). Handbook of public policy analysis:
Theory, Politics & Methods. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Redmond, H. (2021, February 9). Boston’s “Methadone Mile” and the Wars on Drug Users,
Unhoused People. Retrieved from Filter Magazine: https://filtermag.org/bostons-
methadone-mile-and-the-wars-on-drug-users-unhoused-people/
Vivant, E. (2020). Naming the sites of the opioid crisis in Boston: A political issue. EchoGeo,
1-15.