Boston’s Human Service and Public Health agencies are struggling with rising costs and shrinking budgets. If you could put $10 million just into those agencies, how would you invest it?
Mayoral Candidate Responses
Michael Flaherty
To address our persisting gang and youth violence, I would increase the funding for the city’s street worker program so that we could increase the number of workers on the street during the late evening hours when crime is most prevalent. During the Boston Miracle, the city had 45 street workers which largely contributed to the city’s crime fighting success in the previous decade.
I would also increase the funding for the Boston Youth Fund to get more Boston youth off the streets and in a job during the summer when crime often peaks. With additional funding, we could provide jobs to older teens who often need a job the most, but are currently excluded from the program.
Lastly, I would provide additional funding to the city’s substance abuse prevention and recovery programs as addictions are at the roots of many criminal acts.
Thomas Menino
We are benefitting from some federal stimulus money in these areas for expanding nutrition programs and reducing obesity. We could also expand our efforts to knock on doors in our neighborhoods and make people aware of their eligibility for a range of programs, from Food Stamps and SSI, to Mass Health. We’ve begun this effort, and could use more help in this regard to leverage more federal and state dollars for our residents. Funding to such critical areas as Domestic Violence, elderly services and mental health and substance abuse have been drastically cut in this State budget. If money was to become available, I would look to restore funding to programs in these areas so critical to the public health of our communities.
At-Large City Council Candidate Responses
Felix Arroyo
I am always trying to make the best use of the resources I have in any situation, which is one of the qualities I think makes me a good candidate for the city council. $10 million invested in early prevention would reap many more millions in savings on treatments for diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses. As an organizer at Northeast Action with Health Care for America Now, I have come to understand that we spend billions of dollars trying to cure illnesses that could be easily prevented for much less money. I am also a part of the “Test One Million Movement,” whose mission is for one million Black and Latino Americans to get tested for HIV by 2010. This is another example of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure, where testing can prevent transmission of a virus and the associated health costs.
John Connolly
We need to invest in research of diseases that carry a heavy public health burden. Recently the government has increased funding for research of pathogens like anthrax, but it has decreased funding for research of diseases that both carry a heavy public health burden and disproportionately affect low-income populations, such as HIV, Lyme disease, and tuberculosis.
We also need to invest in removing the barriers that are preventing non-English speaking Bostonian’s access to health care and improve communication between clinicians and patients. Future reductions in the cost of care will offset the cost of this investment and we will better serve a growing population in our city.
Tomás Gonzalez
I would fully support the “Thrive in Five” Initiative. This public/private partnership seeks to address the needs of children 0 – 5 ensuring their success in school. It would also provide young families with much needed support and resources, so they can raise their children in a nurturing and healthy environment.
Tito Jackson
I would advocate for increased support for Boston’s existing 25-plus community health centers scattered throughout the City’s different neighborhoods. These health centers have exemplary, culturally-competent programs that address specific gender or race-related health issues. Two excellent examples are the Brookside Community Health Center and the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center.
Andrew Kenneally
I would use the funds to establish a medical clinic through a partnership between the City of Boston and a consortium of local health care facilities. The consortium would facilitate the pooling of Boston’s extensive human capital and resources in the health care industry to help provide subsidized preventive care to those residents who may not otherwise be able to afford it. Such a clinic would ideally offer critical screenings such as HIV testing, a preventive measure which too often is not administered either due to physicians’ reluctance to recommend it or a patient’s inability to pay. Our city has a moral obligation to do what it can for those residents who struggle to pay for basic medical expenses.
Steve Murphy
Last years PHC budget was $69 million and the FY10 budget is a little over $70 million. The budget for the PHC has been consistent since I was first elected. Boston is the only city that hasn’t walked away from public health. The City should be applauded for that. We’ve gone from receiving $462 million to $199 million in State aid. If I could invest $10 million in those agencies I would rely on the public health officials to determine how the money would be best utilized.
Ayanna Pressley
Human service and public health agencies are facing an almost crushing demand for their services at a time when their budgets are being slashed. At a time of such economic crisis, my first priority would be ensuring this much-needed influx of $10 million did not turn into a political tug-of-war. I would meet the heads of the agencies such as Dr. Ferrer at the Public Health Commission, Larry Mayes in Human Services and Daphne Griffin at Boston Centers for Youth and Families, examine their budgets and talk to outside experts about how to best invest the money. Ideally, the money could provide short-term stability to underfunded programs while also enabling longer-term benefits, such as lowering health care costs, promoting nutrition and wellness and providing young people with important life skills.
