Material Aid and Advocacy Program

We hope you will join us NEXT MONDAY March 9 from 4-5PM to learn how to respond to an overdose and talk about and strategies to keep ourselves and our community safe. We'll share an overview of harm reduction as a philosophy, movement, and practice - including safer use strategies and policies that save lives, examples of stigma-reducing language, the effects of opioids and naloxone on our bodies, how to identify and respond to an overdose, and considerations and safety planning around calling 911.

The registration link for this month's training and all 2026 trainings can be found following the included link along with links to toolkits to take action in support of overdose prevention centers and against Mayor Wu and her policing partners campaign of criminalization targeting unhoused community members and poor people who use drugs.

We hope to see you there, stay safe! 💛

https://www.maapma.org/overdoseresponsetraining

“Unhoused people have been telling us for years that congregate shelters aren't safe,” said Cassie Hurd , the executive director of the Cambridge-based Material Aid and Advocacy Program. “And this past year and a half, COVID has reaffirmed that...We need to be pivoting away from warehousing people in shelters and towards what we know is the evidence-based and more compassionate and cost-effective means of addressing homelessness, which is housing.”

Boston's Homeless Services See New Reach Under Pandemic-Induced Changes Last year, providers and the city limited capacity in shelters and offered more two- to four-person rooms to minimize exposure.

The announcement sparked immediate criticism from advocates. Cassie Hurd , executive director of the Material Aid and Advocacy Program, said the order is more about getting rid of the encampment than improving the health of its inhabitants.

"Though it outright claims otherwise, the core of Mayor Janey's executive order is both criminalization and coercion of unhoused people and people who use drugs," Hurd said. "... It's the disappearing of unhoused people by any means necessary under the guise of public safety and public health."

Janey unveils plan to remove tents from Mass. and Cass area Acting Mayor Kim Janey vowed to end encampments around the crime-ridden area near Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, promising to find shelter for those staying in tents and to forcibly remove people unwilling to comply with the city's efforts.