Since the installation of the Shattuck cottages within Franklin Park, I have noticed a dramatic increase in open heroin use and evidence left behind of recent use. In conversations with people that clean up the Williams St entrance area, it is clear that cleanup changed from alcohol nips to needle caps. I created this website and pulled the available 311 data to see if what I am observing is real or something I just started noticing. Since then, I have extensively walked through areas of the woods which are adjacent to the Shattuck campus. Within Franklin Park, in the last month I guided Boston Public Health employees to over 250 needles, I witnessed heroin deals, I found small bags containing heroin near trails, I encountered multiple people actively using heroin, and witnessed an unresponsive person being removed by emergency personnel. I put my findings here.

One major finding is that there are no mechanisms in place to mitigate the impact of the Shattuck cottages within the vicinity. It appears no thought was given to potential ramifications and only 100% success was planned for. This is while working with a population that will stumble many times before reaching success. My hope moving forward is that we can learn from our mistakes, place some measures to mitigate the heroin use in the park, have good neighbors, and set up those seeking treatment for success and not have temptation at their doorstep.

What started me on this journey was a visit with my toddler to the Williams St. entrance of Franklin Park during the middle of the day. About 100 feet into the park, and within the opening on the left, 3 individuals appeared to be having a picnic. My son repeatedly said "sleep" and ran towards them. They were actively shooting up heroin.

A day after observing people using heroin near the Williams St. entrance of Franklin Park, I found over a dozen needles in the area, including what is pictured below. I could not help but wonder "would my toddler be able to tell the difference between a blood-filled syringe and a toy when left side by side".

Needle and toy

I must admit, this encounter nerved me a little bit. I became super vigilant and noticed all the evidence of heroin use within the area; needles, addipaks, needle caps, these suddenly seemed to be accumulating, and especially near the benches at the Ellicott Arch. On almost every walk I would find a needle and sometimes up to 20 within a single location. I could not escape the visual of needle caps appearing and disappearing. Someone was cleaning these up but they kept coming back. I was not sure if what I was seeing was due to a keener eye or an increase in activity. I set out to gather data to see if I was being emotionally biased. That is what this website is designed to do. Please explore the other tabs if you are interested. I collected all the data I could from 311 on needle cleanup locations throughout Boston and aggregated by month and week.

Below you can see the comparison of needle cleanup from before the Shattuck cottages and since the construction. As of this writing, I see a clear increase of needles within the Williams St. entrance area. I set this up to update every week, so by the time you are reading this, it may be worse, or it may be better. What is telling is the timing of the activity. Increases started after placement of housing and services and not before, therefore, it is not the lack of housing and services leading to what we see, it is the placement of them within the park. Either the vicinity has been mismanaged, or the density of housing and services in the area is too high to effectively manage.

If we start looking at where needles are found, a clear trajectory is seen coming from the Shattuck campus. In the image below, each purple to yellow heat-map area represents where needles were found since December 20, 2021, when the cottages on the Shattuck campus opened; the blue circle represents the relative size of population housed; the black line is where there is currently a fence; the red line is the trajectory coming from the Shattuck site. This heat-map matches my observations. Activity from the Williams St. entrance to the Ellicott arches is increasing.

Current needle use trajectory

This now leads me to the next obvious area, the woods with high activity located between the entrance leading to the Ellicott Arch and Cemetery Road. This area is seen in the picture below and encircled by a red line. I have explored a lot of this area. It is a place to get out of your comfort zone. There is continual evidence of heroin use throughout all the trails here. I have found well over 100 needles, seen active heroin use, seen drug deals, found bags with heroin still in them, and many encampments, both empty and being setup.

Trail map with heroin use camps marked

Area on top of the rock overlooking Forest Hills St. Location of repeated heroin use.
About a half dozen encampments that go in and out of use. On a hill overlooking the Shattuck Campus.
Benches near Ellicott Arch where there is regular use. I witnessed both heroin deals and active shooting up at the arch.
Place where the first picture of this page was taken, and people were openly using heroin. Needles and a toy were found here. It is an area frequented by children.

So where do we go from here? I do not have all the answers and am just some Joe Schmo from the nearby neighborhood. I do think we can do better; not only for the community but also for those that are seeking treatment. Not only are these not mutually exclusive, but they are also intertwined. Everybody loses when there is a growth of open heroin usage near where services are placed for those seeking treatment. It is not good for the health of the community, nor is it good for preventing temptation and relapse for the patient.

When Marylou Sudders and her team informed the community of their decision to place the cottages at the Shattuck campus, they came with rehearsed talking points. The main talking point was their intention of being a good neighbor. This has not been the situation so far. There were no mechanisms put into place to mitigate heroin use in the area. Since placement of the cottages, there has been no evaluation of impact, nor outreach to the community. People from Mass and Cass were moved here, and 100% success was declared without any learnings. I believe now is the time to start learning from what is not working and start finding solutions that do work. Mechanisms and plans put into place are needed to both prevent and mitigate heroin use in the vicinity.

We, as a community, need to have local heroin use mitigated before bringing in another group of people trying to move on from addiction. In a high-density complex on Washington St. within the nearby neighborhood, 140 houses for the homeless are being added. This is likely low threshold housing for those still struggling with addiction to heroin. This housing is not yet finished but is expected to be finished the Spring of 2024. It is also the largest of its kind; a capacity that is almost 5 times larger than the cottages on the Shattuck Campus. Having heroin use encampments in nearby Franklin Park will make it near impossible for this population to get back on its feet.

Pine St Inn location and relative size added

Trajectory with Pine St Inn added

Now is the time to start having a dialogue to move forward to a better place. Before expanding services nearby, we need to learn from the services already put in place. There needs to be true outreach and involvement of the community. I do not know how to move this forward. There are a few of us starting to get together, but I hope those with great ideas and influence can help. Hopefully, this website and my observations can help things move in the right direction.

Let's leave this place better than we found it. Let's do what's best for the community and those addicted to opioids. Let's not sacrifice Franklin Park, the nearby neighborhoods, and those addicted to opioids in order to reduce the heat politicians are feeling about Mass and Cass.

Raise awareness of the situation. Contact:
Your local state representative and senator
The governor's office
Michelle Wu
Anyone that will listen in order to create awareness.

If you have good ideas and/or influence, my contact info is stonybrookdad@gmail.com.

Join neighborhood organizations and raise awareness:
Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council (GMNC)
Garrison-Trotter Neighborhood Association (Roxbury)
Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC)
Stony Brook Neighborhood Association (SNA)
Franklin Park Coalition (FPC)
Emerald Necklace Conservancy
If there are more, send me an email and I will add them.

If you find needles in the park, use the 311 mobile app to get it cleaned up. The mobile app will add GPS coordinates making cleanup easier for those picking up the needles (Dana, Leroy, David, and company):
Android
Apple

Beyond 311, I am not aware of any resources to prevent, stop, or mitigate the situation.

Below are some pictures taken within the park in the last month. At the tabs at the top of this page are sources for more pictures. The tab labeled Franklin Park Pictures contains date and location information for each picture.
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