Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jun 2017 Source: Boston Globe (MA) Copyright: 2017 Globe Newspaper Company Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340 Website: http://bostonglobe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52 A START, BUT NOT A SOLUTION, FOR 'METHADONE MILE' A city-run day shelter that will house the homeless along Methadone Mile. ON A RECENT afternoon at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, a group of people tried to revive an unconscious man lying on a strip of grass. Only the white soles of the man's sneakers were visible to motorists as they waited for the light to change. Another man darted between the idling cars toward a Boston firetruck and said, "A guy over there OD'd, he needs help." It was a shocking, but not at all surprising occurrence in an area near Boston Medical Center known as "Methadone Mile." Mayor Martin J. Walsh wants to eliminate such harrowing scenes with a plan to spend as much as $1 million a year on a new day shelter for addicts and the homeless. This summer, the backyard at the Southampton Street Shelter will be renovated into a barracks-style tent, complete with air conditioners, televisions, cushy seating, coffee, and snacks. To encourage attendance, there will be few rules or restrictions. "It's about getting people off the streets, and creating a safe space," Walsh told the Globe. "We want to make it a warm, welcoming space." Methadone Mile, in the city's Newmarket area, burgeoned after the Long Island Bridge was condemned, in 2014, leaving addicts and the homeless without shelters and treatment facilities on the island. The problem was also exacerbated after an underpass across from Suffolk County Jail, where people often congregated, was fenced off earlier this year. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt