A virtual town hall meeting was held last week concerning the possible installation of a supervised consumption site in Somerville.

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

On Thursday of last week, the City of Somerville held a supervised consumption site town hall. The meeting focused on data concerning these sites and the need for them in Somerville.

The meeting was led by Director of Health and Human Services Doug Kress and attended by Mayor Joseph Curtatone and President of the Somerville City Council Matt McLaughlin.

Mayor Curtatone presented initial remarks, followed by those of Councilor McLaughlin. Both emphasized the importance and effectiveness of these facilities. “This is about saving lives, this is about giving people the opportunity to seek treatment, it’s not just about enabling drug use,” McLaughlin said.

After these introductory remarks, a presentation was given regarding research done by Alex Collins, Brandon Marshall, and TJ Thompson.  The presentation was a draft report regarding a needs assessment and feasibility report for supervised consumption sites.

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One striking statistic regarded the number of overdose deaths in Massachusetts in 2020. “In 2020, 2,104 people died of an opioid-related overdose in Massachusetts,” Marshall said. “Between 2012 and 2018, the number of overdose deaths among Somerville residents increased more than fivefold.”

Following these grim statistics, Marshall described supervised consumption sites. “These facilities are hygienic, medical environments, where individuals can consume pre-obtained substances under the supervision of health-care professionals,” Marshall said.

In addition, Marshall tackled a number of myths that are used against the placement of these such sites. “Supervised consumption sites do not increase the number of people who use drugs coming into a neighborhood,” Marshall said. “Studies conducted in Canada and an evaluation of one unsanctioned facility in the United States finds that they do not increase harm, violence, or crime in the neighborhoods in which they are located.”

Moreover, Collins presented key findings of surveys conducted with people who use drugs in the Somerville area. One figure in particular provided a greater insight into how supervised consumption sites could benefit the community. “What we found in this work is that almost all participants said that they would use a supervised consumption site if it were established in Somerville,” Collins said.

The presentation also included another survey given to members of the Somerville community about their anxieties about safety and community impact of these sites. “56 percent of respondents said they had no concern,” Collins said.

Another question posed to community members was in regards to preferred locations for a supervised consumption site in Somerville. “The two major neighborhoods that came out of this were East Somerville and Davis Square,” Collins said.

To wrap up the presentation, Collins gave a set of recommendations and conclusions for the report. “Based on this range of data, we recommend that a site be located in either Davis Square and/or East Somerville,” Collins said. “If you had a location based in Davis Square and East Somerville, you’d really capture all the Somerville community.”

Following the presentation, more comments were given by other members of the research team, Mayor Curtatone and Councilor McLaughlin. “Even if this doesn’t affect you directly, it does indirectly affect you. What we’re trying to do is to directly address these issues,” McLaughlin said.

At the end of the hour and a half meeting, speakers fielded questions from the public.

The next meeting about the supervised consumption sites will be held on Tuesday, July 13 at 6:00 p.m.