• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

THE CRISIS CONTINUES: ABOUT THAT RAGING OPIOID EPIDEMIC

Written by ZACK HUFFMAN Posted December 2, 2020 Filed Under: News, News to Us, NEWS+OPINIONS

A lethal dose of fentanyl

The data shows that fewer people are overdosing on heroin, but ODs related to prescription opioids continue to rise


LOCAL

As a COVID winter approaches, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s plan to address chronic homelessness and addiction, which launched over the summer, still appears to be in a planning phase.

The City Council’s Public Health Committee called members of the Walsh administration to a hearing on Nov. 17 to discuss whether or not special considerations are being made given the ongoing pandemic and the infection rate spikes that are expected moving into winter.

“Programs and shelters had to readjust their services,” Councilor Ed Flynn said about the impacts of COVID-19. “We have seen many cities and towns across Massachusetts shut down their social services. Boston became the social services across the state.”

Walsh announced his so-called “Melnea Cass/Mass. Ave 2.0” strategy in August. The plan created a two-dozen member committee to assess the intersection’s problems. Thus far, the city has increased police presence in the area, ostensibly to help facilitate individuals seeking treatment. Part of the plan also includes decentralizing addiction treatment and homelessness services, many of which have been consolidated in the crosshairs of Melnea Cass since Walsh took office in 2014.

Leo Beletsky, a Northeastern professor of law and health sciences, praised the city’s creation of comfort stations in the area, but largely criticized officials for not doing enough.

“I think that during COVID-19 all of these issues have really come to a head,” Beletsky said during the hearing. “We need to be making more substantial and more innovative interventions in these areas rather than what I see is a lot of cosmetic work. It’s essentially a lot of moving the problem around, which certainly doesn’t address it.”

STATE

Beyond the Boston city limits, opioids continue to be a major problem for the Commonwealth. The state’s Department of Public Health released new data on overdose deaths, which show a 2% increase in 2020 through September when compared to the first nine months of 2019.

The data shows that fewer people are overdosing on heroin, but ODs related to prescription opioids continue to rise. Fentanyl was present in almost all of the overdoses.

The commonwealth suffered its deadliest year in terms of opioid overdoses in 2016, but 2020 is on pace to be the second deadliest.

“We recognize that the stress, anxiety and social isolation brought on by COVID-19 can be especially hard on those dealing with substance use disorder and we remain focused on serving those in need with our multi-pronged strategy to overdose prevention treatments, services, and supports,” Baker said in a statement released with the new overdose data.

The state is on track for more than 2,000 opioid deaths this year, but with over 10,000 COVID-19 deaths, overdoses have received less attention. According to the executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, which lobbies on behalf of the state’s towns and cities, “the tragedy is that COVID-19 is eclipsing the opioid crisis, diverting essential health resources away from needed prevention and treatment efforts, and is amplifying our vulnerability to substance use disorders due to increased isolation, separation and mental health impacts.”

NATIONAL

A change in focus and quarantine-related isolation may create a perfect storm for the growth in addiction, but at least there’s “good news” for companies seeking inexpensive labor.

US Senators ElizabethWarren and Tammy Baldwin asked the federal General Accounting Office to investigate the extent to which federally-funded addiction organizations were farming out their patients for unpaid labor.

“Some rehabilitation facilities have mandatory work requirements, described as vocational therapy, in which participants are sent to work for contractors of or directly at private companies, but receive little to no pay for their labor,” according to the open letter signed by both senators.

The demand for more information came after a Reveal News investigation found that at least 300 addiction treatment facilities among 44 states were requiring clients to provide unpaid labor in exchange for their stays. Some shelters kept the free labor in-house, while others worked with large companies such as Wal-Mart, Exxon, and Shell. The project was extremely revealing indeed:

Reveal interviewed hundreds of current and former employees, rehab participants and state regulators and reviewed thousands of pages of tax records, financial documents, and wage and injury reports. We also documented companies that use these unpaid rehab workers. Some companies said they were unaware of their connection to the unpaid work, thanks to layers of subcontractors, or denied it altogether; other companies that used rehab labor at one point have since severed ties.

Warren and Baldwin’s open letter cited research, or rather the lack thereof showing that unpaid vocational service programs have been remotely successful in addressing addiction while creating a free source of labor …

“Individuals struggling with substance use disorder who attend rehabilitation programs should never be subjected to predatory conditions that threaten their recovery and violate their rights under the law. Federal funding dedicated to supporting individuals and communities navigating substance use disorder must be used in service of evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery.”

 

ZACK HUFFMAN

Zack is a veteran reporter. He writes for DigBoston and VICE, and formerly reported for the Boston Courant and Bulletin Newspapers.

More from author
  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    IT'S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT'S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT?
  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    VIDEO: LONGEST NIGHT MEMORIAL FOR HOMELESS PEOPLE WHO PASSED IN 2020
  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    THIS MONTH IN COURT ACTION FROM ZOOM HEARINGS TO COVID DENIERS
  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    GUNS & GRAVY: THE PILGRIM GANG THAT COULDN’T SHOOT STRAIGHT

Filed Under: News, News to Us, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: homelessness, opioids, overdose deaths, rehabilitation centers

WHAT’S NEW

IT'S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT'S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT?

IT’S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT’S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT?

ON NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION, PROTESTERS CALL FOR EVICTION MORATORIUM

ON NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION, PROTESTERS CALL FOR EVICTION MORATORIUM

WU AND CAMPBELL TO SPEAK AT MAYORAL CANDIDATE WEBINAR

WU AND CAMPBELL TO SPEAK AT MAYORAL CANDIDATE WEBINAR

Hard right wingers casually tour the Capitol during last week's attack. Via C-SPAN.

HOW TO DEFEAT THE HARD RIGHT

BAKER URGED TO SIGN GAME CHANGING CLIMATE BILL

BAKER URGED TO SIGN GAME CHANGING CLIMATE BILL

APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE

APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE by MARC LEVY
  • INSIDE THE FIGHT TO DOCUMENT THE HORRORS AT AMERICA’S OLDEST WOMEN’S PRISON by SHELBY GREBBIN AND ISHA MARATHE
  • VIDEO: COP WHO BRAGGED THAT HE HIT PROTESTERS SHOWS HOW BAD APPLES THRIVE IN BOSTON by CHRIS FARAONE
  • THE WSJ FEATURE ON WORCESTER’S POLICE CHIEF IS PURE COPAGANDA by BILL SHANER
  • STATE LOOKS TO SPEND $75K TO PREVENT FUTURE STORROWINGS by DAN ATKINSON

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

Footer

digbos

Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this lat Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this latest incarnation of a #beer that’s been in the making for months. https://digboston.com/video-jacks-abby-x-boston-celtics-pride-and-parquet-hoppy-lager-unboxing-tasting/ #fun #video #review #Boston #Massachusetts
Jostling for position and influence are the disadv Jostling for position and influence are the disadvantaged candidates, existing industry participants, and municipalities … https://digboston.com/the-road-to-home-delivery-pt-5-dogs-in-the-fight-identifying-the-players/ #cannabis #politics #analysis #Massachusetts
The candidates will be interviewed about the upcom The candidates will be interviewed about the upcoming race. https://digboston.com/wu-and-campbell-to-speak-at-mayoral-candidate-webinar/ #politics #mayor #campaign #Boston #Massachusetts
Participants took to the streets in the hope of sw Participants took to the streets in the hope of swaying the Biden administration. https://digboston.com/on-national-day-of-action-protesters-call-for-eviction-moratorium/ #housing #justice #protest #national #Boston #Massachusetts
“They refuse to respond to this humanitarian cri “They refuse to respond to this humanitarian crisis where people really need them. We’re just ignoring this problem and it’s getting worse and worse.” https://digboston.com/its-harder-than-ever-to-find-a-bathroom-in-boston-whats-the-city-doing-about-it/ #politics #unhoused #homeless #bathroom #public #health #Boston #Massachusetts
Environmental #justice and #climate change advocat Environmental #justice and #climate change advocates are pushing for its passage. https://digboston.com/baker-urged-to-sign-game-changing-climate-bill/ #environment #globalwarming #legislation #politics #Massachusetts
In short, it’s amazing. For details, check the # In short, it’s amazing. For details, check the #video … https://digboston.com/video-night-shifts-tea-party-is-subtle-love-for-people-who-hate-most-hard-teas/ #review #fun #beer @NightShiftBeer
HOW TO DEFEAT THE HARD RIGHT: Some thoughts on the HOW TO DEFEAT THE HARD RIGHT: Some thoughts on the Capitol attack and building a more democratic nation. The latest from DigBoston's @jasonpramas. https://digboston.com/how-to-defeat-the-hard-right/ #democracy #politics #Capitol #US #America #attack #Biden #Trump #grassroots #movement #analysis #strategy #MAGA
“Should Mayor Walsh be confirmed by the Senate, “Should Mayor Walsh be confirmed by the Senate, I am ready to take the reins and lead our city through these difficult times.” https://digboston.com/walsh-to-wash-janey-to-become-1st-black-boston-mayor-1st-woman-to-lead-city/ #politics #Boston #Massachusetts #BlackLivesMatter
APPOINTED #SOMERVILLE #OFFICIAL SPURS #OUTRAGE WIT APPOINTED #SOMERVILLE #OFFICIAL SPURS #OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC #MOB SCENE: Mayor Curtatone says “We’re taking it seriously and doing our due diligence” https://digboston.com/appointed-somerville-official-spurs-outrage-with-tweets-from-dc-mob-scene/ #politics #controversy #Massachusetts #Capitol #Congress #WashingtonDC #MAGA #Trump
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]