ACLU Files Lawsuit On Behalf Of Unhoused People At Mass. And Cass

BOSTON, MA —The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of the people living unhoused in the area of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, whom the organization said are being driven out —under threat of arrest — with no viable housing options.

The suit was filed with the law firm WilerHale and names several defendants, including: the City of Boston, Boston Police Department, Boston Public Health Commission and Acting Mayor Kim Janey.

According to the ACLU, the lawsuit — which specifically names three unhoused individuals as plaintiffs — follows recent large-scale evictions that have left people who resided at Mass. and Cass without even a tent to call home.

The organization claims Boston officials suggested housing would be provided for those driven out of the area, but have not followed through on the promise.

Instead, the ACLU said the plaintiffs —under threat of arrest — are being driven out and their personal property summarily destroyed, leaving them without access to clothing and even vital papers such as identification.

The lawsuit calls the removal tactics used by authorities "fundamentally unlawful." The city's threatening of criminal sanctions for noncompliance for people without access to housing, according to the lawsuit, is a violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution — the government's imposing of cruel and unusual punishments —the Massachusetts Constitution and federal and state disability discrimination law.

"We can't sweep or arrest our way out of the intersecting crises at Mass. and Cass," said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "This plan is harmful and unconstitutional because it forces people to disperse with no safe place to sleep, while disconnecting them from the medical care they are able to receive at Mass. and Cass. Indeed, it's inconsistent with city assurances, public safety and the law."

When asked about the lawsuit during a Friday press conference, Janey said she could not speak specifically about ongoing litigation, but said the city would comply with the courts.

"Our approach has been a public health approach," Janey said, addressing the issue of the homeless population at Mass. and Cass. "We first provide notice, we certainly provide storage and we are working hard to identify beds. We are not asking anyone to remove their property, their belongings or to move off the streets without first identifying a place for them to go that is appropriate, whether that is treatment, whether that is a low-threshold bed."

The acting mayor added: "It is ongoing outreach that happens every single day to connect individuals who need support to treatment and to services. We have made progress, there is more work to do," Janey said.

In a statement, the ACLU argued that despite the city's claims that it would provide shelter alternatives for the people being displaced, there is "no process in place to evaluate people's barriers to congregate shelters — including physical or mental disabilities, underlying medical issues that make people more vulnerable to serious COVID infection, harm reduction needs and family or partner situations — and to identify current available options that address those barriers"

This, the ACLU said, leaves people with nowhere safe to sleep.

"City and other officials are using the threat of arrest and criminal prosecution to force displacements of those who live on the streets without providing actually available, practical alternative housing options," said Kevin Prussia, partner at WilmerHale. "Because of this intimidation, people are sleeping in less secure spaces. This system violates both the Eighth Amendment and federal and state disability discrimination laws."

The ACLU said it recently joined with medical providers, addiction specialists and public health experts to call for a health-centered approach to the intersecting crises at Mass. and Cass.

Such an approach, the organization said, includes expanding emergency non-congregate shelter options, increasing targeted voluntary treatment offerings and protecting civil rights and human dignity in encampments.