MAYOR BRIAN A DEPEÑA HAS LAUNCHED AN INITIATIVE TO ADDRESS UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS

MAYOR BRIAN A DEPEÑA HAS LAUNCHED AN INITIATIVE

TO ADDRESS UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS

A groundbreaking initiative to address unsheltered homelessness in the city has been launched by Mayor Brian A. DePeña. The initiative will involve deploying dedicated teams of officials from different departments to accelerate locally-driven strategies and enact system-level changes to reduce unsheltered homelessness.

The Mayor’s administration, in collaboration with the Community Development Department, Lawrence Police Department, Economic Development Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services, will launch new efforts to address major barriers to Opioid Disorder treatment, housing, health care, mental health, and other support for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

To tackle this crisis, the Mayor’s Office and the Community Development Department propose unprecedented financial investments not only to urgently address homelessness but also to prevent it, with a combination of Opioid funds, Community Development Block Grant, and ARPA-Free Cash investments. 

The initiative was launched in the presence of a community outreach and collaboration event attended by Mayor Brian A. DePeña, Chief of Staff Santiago Matias, Awilda Pimentel (Community Development Department Director), Frank Surrillo (Economic Development Department Director), Dan McCarthy (Planning Director), Martha Velez (Health and Human Services Director), Lt. Daniel Fleming (Lawrence Police Department), Brad Boucher (Project Director Groundwork Lawrence), Rocky Morrison and his team (Clean River Project). 

This is a significant step towards addressing the issue of unsheltered homelessness in Lawrence, and it is expected to have a positive impact on the lives of many people in the city.