Re: law to commit homeless who refuse shelter proposed in Boston FWD

P. Myers (mpwr@u.washington.edu)
Sun, 8 Feb 1998 10:51:26 -0800 (PST) 

Jeez!  We can get them *interested, alright...we just can't get them to
*think!  Incredible.  Thanks Tom...maybe a letter writiing campaign?

PatM


On Sun, 8 Feb 1998, Tom Boland wrote:

> OFFICIAL SEEKS LAW CHANGE TO GET HOMELESS TO SHELTER
> 
> By Judy Rakowsky, Boston Globe Staff, 02/06/98
> 
> In a meeting prompted by the deaths last week of four homeless people in
> South Boston, the city director of emergency shelter services said more
> needs to be done to channel those who receive medical treatment for
> hypothermia into safe lodging.
> 
> Part of the answer, said Kelley Cronin, the director, may be to seek a
> change in *law to give social workers the authority to commit people for 30
> days of treatment if the social worker believes they are not able to fend
> for themselves. Current law permits only physicians and police to order a
> 30-day commitment.
> 
> There are more outreach workers in Boston now than ever, thanks to
> increased federal aid, said Cronin. But the teams of workers who go out in
> vans each night searching for homeless people who need shelter do not
> always include a physician.
> 
> Teams lacking a physician cannot protect those who refuse treatment, Cronin
> said.
> 
> The four homeless people who died last week in a fire in a trailer in South
> Boston had apparently been staying there for months, tapping into
> electrical service from a nearby garage. Authorities said alcohol
> consumption may have been a factor.
> 
> ''When it comes to substance abuse, we're not going to stop people from
> abusing substances because we force them off the streets,'' Cronin said.
> 
> This story ran on page C14 of the Boston Globe on 02/06/98.
> 
> END FORWARD
> 
> 
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