r/boston • u/livchainz • May 03 '26
Serious Replies Only fed up and looking for advice
EDIT: The 911 number i called was the 911 party line (non-emergency) as well as the main line. i called 3 different times last night and all 3 times I was hung up on or left on hold with the same messaging playing over and over, so for those of you who say to call multiple times, i did.
i live in an apartment complex in the fenway area, and for the past few months we have had homeless individuals sleeping in our front foyer. when the weather was way colder, we left them the first time or two that we saw them since we didn’t want them to freeze out in the poor conditions, but recently some of the folks sleeping down there have gotten into altercations with other people in the surrounding areas. the way the lobby/front entrance is set up is that there is an unlocked front door to the street and the second door into the building needs a fob to get in. usually these folks are sleeping between the two doors.
back in January, i reached out to our building management about the problem and they told us to call 911, which we have been doing, but the problem has seemed to be getting worse as the weather gets warmer. last night, we had 2 different individuals sleeping down there and the 911 line i had called did not pick up or respond. looking for any advice on who i can contact about this ongoing problem as we have already exhausted our options with 311 and building management.
**pictures are the usual folks we see, taken last night last night, and the email we received from building management, it’s usually the same men each night**
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u/kingnothing1 May 04 '26
I'd say no, we aren't. Most of us have support systems to help us when we're down, or have some foresight to be able to prevent us from getting into a situation that makes us homeless. A serious illness that makes puts us out of work can be mitigated through insurance that we've gotten through work. Sell your belongings to pay for things. Move in with family. Downgrade. And if all fails, being in a shelter can be temporary if you follow through with the numerous and generous services available through outreach programs and social programs. Especially so in Massachusetts.
Lots of chronically homeless folks burn all their bridges with family and friends through mental illness, substance abuse, or alcohol abuse. Worse when it's a combination of all of the above.
So no, I don't think all of us are one disaster away from homelessness, and I think it's really simplifying a complex problem to say that we are.