Saturday meeting with candidates on park situation, 1 pm, 7 Hills Park
Christopher Beland
I saw this poster tacked to a utility pole today. I have no idea who is sponsoring this meeting (kind of a red flag), but my hair is on fire about these problems and I thought other folks would be interested in attending, too.
-B.
CALLING ALL DAVIS SQUARE RESIDENTS
Join us for a Community Meeting to develop an action plan addressing:
- Public Drug Use
- Encampments
- Disturbance of Peace
- Littering
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2025 1:00 PM
SEVEN HILLS PARK, DAVIS SQUARE
Hear from Candidates in the Upcoming Somerville Election:
- Jake Wilson - Candidate for Mayor
- Kristen Strezo - Candidate for Councilor At-large
- Wilbert Pineda - Candidate for Ward 7
- Emily Hardt - Candidate for Ward 7
Let's work together for a safer, cleaner, and stronger community!
Zachary Yaro
Kind regards,
Zachary Yaro
Allison Lund
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Davis Square Neighborhood Council · https://DavisSquareNC.org · https://linktr.ee/DavisSquareNC
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Jeff Byrnes
> “Thanks for reaching out. It is not being organized by a group, but was initiated by someone who lives right outside of 7 Hills Park, Kenda Mutongi. I don't know her personally but from what she has said, she is just a frustrated resident who teels like the City hasn't done enough. I'm happy to forward you her email so you can read her statement -- just send me your email address.”
Jeff Byrnes
he/him
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David
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PJ Santos
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Callie Wiser
I just received a response from the mayor’s office to an email I sent to 311 and the mayor a couple weeks ago regarding encampments, the love seat moved into the public space beside the Kindercare, and trash. This is the first time I’ve received a response, and I thought it worth sharing here in case there are things in it that are new or of interest to the group.
Thank you for your email. It has been shared with Mayor Ballantyne, who asked that I respond on her behalf. The Mayor would like to acknowledge your concerns about the Davis Square area and provide her assurance that our teams have and continue to be actively engaged to address the range of challenges here. The health and safety of all residents remains our top priority.
A community meeting has been scheduled for Monday, October 6, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Somerville Community Baptist Church (31 College Ave.) to discuss related issues. Updates will be given by Mayor Ballantyne, Police Chief Benford, and additional staff from SPD and Health and Human Services. All Somerville community members are invited to attend. In the event the church reaches capacity, the meeting will also be livestreamed at youtube.com/SomervilleCityTV. For people watching the livestream, questions may be submitted in advance to davissafe...@somervillema.gov. Please submit by Friday, October 3.
Your message was also shared with the Somerville Police Department, our Department of Public Works (DPW), and our Health and Human Services (HHS) Department. At the Mayor’s express direction, City staff continue to work actively and with urgency to prioritize the wellbeing of all our residents and to promote safety in Davis Square and all our public spaces.
Our approach consists of four key strategies:
- Creating safe, alternative spaces or opportunities for those experiencing homelessness (SHCs daytime engagement center, Winter Warming Center, other stabilizing services)
- Connecting individuals with needed resources (shelter, housing, health services, job supports)
- Building service capacity (supporting increased shelter capacity at SHCs proposed new shelter, adding outreach and social service staff, creating our Community Health Worker team)
- Ensuring quality public spaces for the use of all residents (public space maintenance and public safety presence and enforcement)
At the core of this is an equal commitment to the humane and supportive treatment of people facing the extremely difficult challenge of homelessness as well as to the goal that all community members can comfortably and safely share our public spaces.
Below I’ve included some more detailed information about these ongoing efforts:
- Ongoing Maintenance Efforts and Long-term Strategy:DPW is actively conducting enhanced regular trash collection, regular street sweeping, and public space maintenance throughout the Davis Square area. They are also replacing some traditional waste bins with higher capacity Big Belly waste receptacles. DPW leadership are coordinating with businesses whose customers contribute heavily to waste bin usage on collaborative solutions. Other maintenance improvements include, DPW placing a porta potty in the area, which is serviced daily by a hired contractor. We recognize that high volumes of trash and other items can accumulate, and while staff proactively monitor this, residents are also encouraged to report excess trash and litter through 311—these reports support DPW’s efforts to triage their resources. Finally, Mayor Ballantyne is working closely with DPW, SPD, and our community advocacy partners to develop a new Davis Square maintenance plan that includes enhanced interdepartmental coordination on upkeep and maintenance.
- Coordinated Outreach and Moves into Shelter/Housing: Our partners at the Somerville Homeless Coalition along with the City’s Community Health Workers are intensively focusing engagement efforts in Davis Square. Interactions range from providing essential resources (such as water, food, and sunscreen), to connecting individuals to services such as SNAP benefits, MassHealth, employment opportunities, rehabilitation programs, and other support services. They are actively assisting unhoused residents to find and apply for housing opportunities. In addition, SHC, with the City’s support, continues to manage the Daytime Engagement Center for those needing space or services. The City has contributed funding and support to add shelter bed capacity at SHC’s proposed new shelter nearby. Just in the past two months, SHC has completed roughly 200 housing search meetings, 164 mental health meetings or touch points, and successfully moved 11 individuals into permanent housing and 8 into shelter.
These services are designed to humanely stabilize individuals and connect them to lasting alternatives to shelter and housing – a proven method for longer-term success, unlike arrests or clearing of persons, which tend to lead to worse outcomes, longer homelessness, and shifting of overnight spots to yards, porches, or other public spaces.
- Public Safety Presence: While maintaining a compassionate, community-centered approach, SPD continues to hold increased patrols in the area and to conduct law enforcement. Between June 30 and September 21, SPD has conducted 806 direct patrols and 455 routine park walk and talks. A reminder that if an emergency arises, please call 911.
- Community Resources: Recently added to the City website, somervillema.gov/howtohelp offers a helpful guide for how to report any concerns and help care for your neighborhood.
Again, in a national and state environment where homelessness is rising but resources are not, Somerville is undertaking a combined public safety and public health response to address immediate real-time issues as well as root causes. These efforts aim to relieve pressure on our public spaces and offer our unhoused greater opportunity for stability.
The work is ongoing and we will continue to evaluate and evolve our efforts.
Again, thank you for your message.
Best,
Victoria MacGregor
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Christopher Beland
taken care of already? If anyone's wondering about the furniture next
to the Holland St. Red Line entrance (facing Life Alive outdoor
seating), the city has determined that's on MBTA property and their
responsibility to remove. Supposedly the MBTA has been notified, but if
you have feelings it doesn't hurt to complain to them
directly: https://www.mbta.com/customer-support
-B.
Christopher Beland
> We should reach out to the organizer and invite them to attend a DSNC
> meeting / encourage them to run this through the DSNC in the future.
> It's great they're passionate about the issue, but between this, the
> city's meeting, and the DSNC, it sounds like there's a lot of
> disjointed processes going on. Organizing in one place might be more
> effective at coming to agreement + getting the city to listen.
other all the time when we're watering our plants. I mentioned the DSNC
in person at the event, and just sent her a followup invitational email
with our contact info for this list and our meetings and our board. I
also attempted to sign up for the Davis Square Friends Google Group so
I can join the folks who relay interesting messages from there.
I agree there's a lot of power in unity and coordination and de-
duplication of effort. There is also value to independent activism -
often different groups have different approaches which can complement
each other, and individuals and focused groups can act more quickly on
specific ideas or be more creative and break through a general
reluctance to try certain things. So I'll "yes and" your sentiment and
encourage both. 8)
I did see a lot of DSNC faces at the event (yay!) and took a bunch
notes from the event and after-conversations with some people who are
living in the parks.
-B.