Boston and South End leaders propose specialty court and expanded teams to disrupt Mass and Cass drug market

A coordinated shift centered on enforcement, outreach, and court diversion

Boston officials and community leaders unveiled a proposal this week aimed at changing how the city responds to the open-air drug market and street-level disorder around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, an area widely known as “Mass and Cass.” The plan seeks to tighten coordination between police, clinicians, outreach workers and the courts, with the stated goal of reducing outdoor drug use while expanding pathways into treatment and longer-term stabilization.

The framework was presented by the South End/Roxbury/Newmarket Working Group on Addiction and Recovery in a briefing held Wednesday. Leaders described the proposal as a response to persistent public health and safety concerns in nearby neighborhoods, including reports of break-ins and other quality-of-life impacts during warmer months when street activity tends to increase.

Four recommendations: NEST, CORE, specialty court, and housing options

The proposal is structured around four primary recommendations:

• Expand and make permanent the Boston Police Department’s Neighborhood Engagement and Safety Team (NEST).
• Expand and make permanent the Co-Response Outreach, Recovery Engagement (CORE) Team, paired with stronger case management.
• Create a specialty court focused on pre-arraignment diversion for people repeatedly arrested in connection with drug-related conduct in the area.
• Increase access to long-term housing and short-term sober living placements.

Supporters of the plan described NEST and CORE as street-level units designed to work in tandem, bringing together law enforcement and health professionals, including clinicians and recovery coaches. The specialty court concept is intended to centralize recurring cases and route eligible individuals into treatment earlier in the legal process, rather than relying solely on traditional arraignment and case handling.

City operations and reported treatment placements

Boston has operated a multi-agency Coordinated Response Team model intended to address outdoor substance use, homelessness-related needs, and neighborhood conditions through combined outreach, sanitation, and public safety deployment. City leaders say the approach includes proactive engagement, a formal co-response model with law enforcement, and daily operational coordination across agencies.

“The status quo is not acceptable,” leaders said as they argued for a tighter, more consistent alignment between recovery services and public-safety response.

Officials involved in the city’s coordinated operations said that, since mid-September, close to 480 people had been placed into inpatient substance use treatment after seeking help through the city’s response channels.

Funding questions and the role of the state

Key elements of the proposal—expanding dedicated teams, building a new court diversion model, and scaling sober housing capacity—would require additional resources. Working group leaders said a comprehensive cost estimate has not yet been finalized, but described staffing and housing as major expense drivers.

Leaders also emphasized that Mass and Cass is shaped by regional dynamics, including the fact that not everyone seeking services in the corridor is a Boston resident. The proposal frames state involvement as necessary for a durable solution, both for funding and for aligning criminal justice and treatment systems beyond the city level.