Recovery Services
The Mayor’s Office of Recovery Services supports substance use disorder and addiction recovery strategies in the City.
We work to give more people access to the support they need. We also build key partnerships with City, State, and community partners. Our office is the first municipal recovery office in the United States.
Contact
For recovery support, please call 3-1-1 or 617-635-4500.
COVID-19 online resources
With physical locations closed across the state due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, we put together a list of online resources for recovery support groups:
Watch: Fighting the addiction crisis
Listen: Voices from the front lines
Hear about the experiences of people working on the front lines of the addiction epidemic:
Get involved
Learn how to reverse an overdose and access Narcan at a free training.
Volunteer your time to help beautify your neighborhood.
The words we use to talk about addiction matter.
There are many volunteer opportunities in Boston.
Explore a career in recovery services or public health.
Find help for yourself or others
Get helpSafe disposal of drugs and needles
About our work
In 2015, Mayor Martin J. Walsh created the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Services. We’re focused on substance use disorder and addiction issues in Boston. We work closely with Boston Public Health Commission’s Bureau of Recovery Services.
To build and support local recovery services, we partner with:
- City of Boston departments
- state and federal agencies
- local service providers, and
- community network.
What we’ve done so far
In 2014, Mayor Walsh and the City partnered with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. Together, we analyzed Boston's substance use addiction problem. As part of our work, we set up an Addiction Recovery Advisory Group made up of:
- addiction experts
- community leaders, and
- researchers.
The group created the Addiction and Recovery Services Blueprint. This plan identifies strategies the City should use with the nation's first Office of Recovery Services.
Our office partnered with 311, the City’s constituent service hotline. Through this effort, we’ve created an easy way for residents to get access to recovery services and resources.
We’ve more than doubled the staff and extended the hours at the PAATHS program, the City’s access to care program.
Public health tactics are now a part in the City’s public safety work, thanks to our partnerships with:
- Boston Police and Boston Fire
- Emergency Medical Services, and
- the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department.
These efforts include diversion for low-level drug offenses, overdose prevention and follow-up, and reentry supports.
We created a Street Outreach Team that engages with the most vulnerable members of our community in care. Our Mobile Sharps Team responds to 311 requests for syringes and proactively patrols high-volume areas. At our Engagement Center, we provide a welcoming space for people to spend time during the day.
We supported Mayor Walsh in his role as the Chair of the US Conference of Mayors’ first-ever Substance Use, Prevention, and Recovery Services Task Force.
Reports
Melnea Cass / Mass. Ave. 2.0
A strategic plan for Newmarket Square and neighboring communities.
Youth Substance Use Prevention Strategic Plan
Our guide for youth substance use prevention efforts in Boston for the next several years.
Addressing substance use disorders in U.S. cities
The City of Boston created a toolkit for mayors and policy makers in 2017.
