Community leaders pushed back forcefully against a detox facility proposed by the nonprofit Bay Cove Human Services for 43 Freeport St. at the monthly meeting of the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association Monday night, citing concerns about the center’s size and neighborhood fit.

William Sprague, president of Bay Cove, sought to allay the neighbor’s concerns at the well-attended session that drew in state and city officials. In a letter to the editor from Sprague that was published in last week’s Reporter, he noted that 11 percent of Bostonians struggle with addiction, and added that “the need for detox services has never been greater.”

The proposed Andrew House Detox program would be a 60-bed facility treating voluntary admittances on a three-to-seven-day schedule. Clinic workers would pick up and drop off patients on either end of their stays at a designated MBTA stop, with JFK/UMass under consideration, Sprague said.

City Councillor Frank Baker spoke in strident opposition to the proposal at the meeting. “I don’t want to sound like we don’t want people to get help, but I don’t personally think this is a good location for this facility,” he said. “Good development is finally coming to Dorchester. We’ve been around for years watching everybody leave, leave, leave; disinvestment in our neighborhood. Now that we finally have some good investment in Dorchester, in that area, and we’re gonna put a detox right across the street? I think it’s a mistake,” Baker said, to a good deal of applause.

Andrew House was left without a home after the Long Island Bridge was closed and demolished in 2014, Sprague said. Bay Cove has an agreement to lease with the owners of the 18,000-square-foot Freeport Street property, although Sprague acknowledged their hope to be operational by early 2017 was “optimistic.”

Civic association members acknowledged the need for detox beds, given the opiate crisis and the closing of the Long Island site, but some expressed worry that the facility would amount to a treatment center for suburban residents.

“We have plenty of people around here who could use the treatment,” said Savin Hill resident Paul Nutting.
Andrew House’s patients have been 85 percent Boston residents, Sprague said. Baker responded to that by requesting specifics as to how clients were being classified as Boston residents.

The center is neither a long-term recovery program nor a dispensary, Sprague said, noting that some 65 percent of patients proceed to a 30-day treatment program. He also mentioned that methadone can be prescribed at Andrew House as on-site treatment.

Eileen Boyle, Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association president, said that city administration representatives should be at the table as these discussions take place because the proliferation of recovery facilities has become a city-wide issue. “The mayor needs to start talking about this,” she said. “The fact that he’s been silent is aggravating. So he needs to start setting a larger plan for this.”

Boyle compared the situation to the united civic association front’s opposition to any new billboards until the city introduces a comprehensive plan.

With numerous non-profits operating independently, “no one collaborates and decides what happens citywide,” Boyle said. “And we know it has to happen, but what’s the most effective way? I think these little pockets are scary to everyone who lives in the surrounding neighborhoods.”

One attendee pointed out that with 60 beds cycling through every seven days, the neighborhood could expect around 3,000 individuals per year receiving detox treatment.

“Mayor Walsh believes we need to increase the number of detox beds to help our residents and families impacted by the opiates crisis that our city and region is facing,” a spokesperson for the mayor said on Tuesday. “This specific project is currently going through the community process, and the Mayor's Office is listening closely to all feedback from the community.“

Sprague said Bay Cove will present the proposal to the Clam Point Civic Association at its monthly meeting next Monday (May 9). An abutters meeting is planned for the following week.