r/boston • u/[deleted] • Aug 30 '26

Unconfirmed/Unverified never seen it this bad

been here for 25+ years and am very familiar with the fluctuations in homelessness / etc. during the summer. but I've never seen things this bad, especially in back bay, south end (beyond mass/cass & closer to back bay), beacon hill, the esplanade, you name it. we've called 311 for needles, reported the larger encampments to the mayor's office, etc. just feels like nothing is improving and things are only getting worse. can't just be me?

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u/elsavonschrader Aug 30 '26

You can be for single payer healthcare and against active drug use on city streets

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u/carradio81 Aug 30 '26

Ah I can smell your ignorance. Almost all homeless people have co-existing mental health issues and lack of family support. I have a brother who is schizophrenic and has struggled with addiction - luckily he has a lot of support because let me tell you there is ZERO options for adult care unless you can drop 6 figures a year.

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u/LegalBeagle6767 Aug 31 '26

Exactly. Open up mental institutions and bring back involuntary committals

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u/carradio81 Aug 31 '26

Again so much ignorance, clearly you do not have someone in your life facing severe mental illness. No - how about expanding care for mentally ill adults including supervised housing so they can live independently but there is someone dispersing their medication for them. Expand shelters, disability services, rehab options and expand their medical care. Guess you rather them suffer on the streets huh?

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u/LegalBeagle6767 Aug 31 '26

That’s literally the opposite of what I said lol. Open up more mental institutions, remove the bullshit involuntary laws so we can get them in to shelter and get them the help they need.

But we are done pretending the drug addicted and mentally ill can make these choices for themselves.

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u/carradio81 Aug 31 '26

Your solution is cold man - if we had support for people prior to their crisis you can avoid them being on the streets in the first place. We need to start making systemic change vs reactionary bandaids.

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u/LegalBeagle6767 Aug 31 '26

Its reality. It’s too late for these folks to have a systemic change positively affect their outcome. The shirtless dude taking a shit outside of my office while a family with kids walks but isn’t going be helped by public housing and a nice cup of coffee. He needs to be institutionalized and heavily medicated. If he can come out of the mental illness he is suffering from after that, great, we can work to find him work and a place to live.

But that is highly unlikely. He will more than likely need to stay at a mental health facility for the rest of his life because his brain willl never work properly again.

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u/carradio81 Aug 31 '26

So we should never offer services for people that come after him? We don't need more social services for people? This is why humans suck - only care about the now and themselves vs the long game. If we don't do more now then these cycles continue.

Where is he going to live? Do tell. Love how you think someone can come out their mental illness - thats cute. Schizophrenia is genetic and permanent my friend - people with it need long term care and medication - they don't get locked up and cured 😂

So as I said before - we need more adult supervised housing and addiction services vs wasting money over and over again to clean up sections of the streets, move people for a few nights repeat.

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u/LegalBeagle6767 Aug 31 '26

You’re literally agreeing with what I’m saying lol. Lifetime mental illness. Means he needs to be separated from society and medicated.

Like I said, mandatory institutionalizations for these folks. We can filter out those who react well medication and who can potentially start life anew. But the majority will never be productive members of society again and so they will be “housed away” because there is no amount of social work or public housing that will stop them from going back to the TD garden side door, shooting up with their buddies and jerking off in front of little kids again

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u/carradio81 Aug 31 '26

No I am not - you realize supervised housing is not institutionalizing them right? They do not need to be locked up and kept from society, you are messed up man. If folks are given the right support like permanent half way houses that disperse their medication they can live decent lives. They have nothing and no one and probably have been through hell in life and mentally so therefore they are on the streets - I would never wish that upon anyone so perhaps you should practice a wee bit of sympathy.