The Boston Globe published my letter about the homelessness crisis in today’s newspaper:
We should be addressing root causes, not looking to correctional settings
I am a physician with a background in public health, and I agree with Dr. Jody Rich, director of the Center for Health and Justice Transformation, that jail-based addiction programs are not a solution to the crisis at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard (“A look inside sheriff’s plan for Mass. and Cass,” Shirley Leung, Page A1, Oct. 24). For example, one recent study reported that fentanyl-related overdoses are likely to be occurring at increasing frequency within correctional facilities.
Instead, how about a social movement to address the root causes of the opioid and homelessness crisis? Band-Aids are not the answer when our brothers and sisters are bleeding out. Instead of “dignified incarceration,” we need dignified housing, effective treatment, job training, education, and community support.
Finally, we must address the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. As a practicing doctor who has bipolar disorder and takes lithium, I have empathy for my neighbors at Mass. and Cass who are struggling and marginalized. I hope the people of this city will come together and build what the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called a “beloved community” of health and healing.
Philip Albert Lederer M.D. 
Important. People are overdosing and dying
I read your excellent letter to the Globe and was compelled to find you online and personally commend you for speaking up so eloquently and courageously. Well said and amen!
Dear Katie, thanks so much. Best regards, Phil
End the stigma now.
yes
The “beloved community” means people come together to create the society we wish we had…
Free of stigma and discrimination
Free of poverty and racism
Free of violence and inequity
Full of beauty and kindness
Full of joy and peace
yes
But what about fentanyl overdoses on the street – aren’t prisons safer than the streets?
Where is a the social movement to end homelessness?
What will Mayor Wu do about Mass/Cass?
We need to speak out with one voice.