Cambridge City Councilor Assaulted While Being Interviewed About Homeless Problem
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) - It was early afternoon in Central Square Tuesday when a WBZ-TV camera took a jolt. A man hit the TV videographer and then hit the city councilor that was being interviewed.
"I'm fine. I'm fine," said Councilor Marc McGovern.
Coincidentally, McGovern has been studying the impact of the growing population of unhoused people in Cambridge. He's also a social worker. "I do know that gentleman from the area. He is unhoused. He does have mental illness. We have a broken system. If you don't have housing, it's hard to get medical care. It's hard to get mental health care," said McGovern.
He said the issue has been even worse since Boston's sweep of the encampment in the area known as Mass and Cass months ago. When a WBZ crew checked that area Tuesday, it was crowded and heavy with open drug use, but the tents are gone. Now they are popping up in other places, like the banks along the Cambridge side of the Charles River.
"Obviously, affordable housing is a huge issue here in Cambridge," said resident Grace Montgomery. "We definitely need more housing for the homeless people," said Sumaya Yiasmin, who works in Central Square.
In recent months, Cambridge has opened up new temporary shelters and is also planning new day-centers that would be full of services for the homeless. Councilor McGovern is pushing for more housing and long-term care aimed at preventing situations like the assault he endured at the hands of a homeless man Tuesday.
"The police are going to get him sectioned to a hospital, but you can only hold someone for three days, and they usually release the person in less than 12 hours because they don't have the resources. So, he's going to be back on the street," said McGovern. "We have a broken system, and people are suffering, and it's sad."
Cambridge Police spokesperson Jeremy Warnick said the city will work to connect the man with mental health services. "Our goal...is to get the defendant into the Cambridge Community Court program and connect him with services, so he receives the help he needs," Warnick said.