Mayor Martin Walsh partners with Green River to combat homelessness

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced Friday a partnership to develop a program that will tackle Boston’s chronic homelessness situation head-on, according to a Friday press release.

According to the release, the City of Boston is partnering with Green River, a Cambridge software company, to create the program, Coordinated Access System. CAS will allow shelters, housing companies and emergency facilities to engage on a single tech platform, allowing for seamless and effective communication.

Thomas Byrne, a professor in Boston University’s School of Social Work, said the program is useful due to the cost-deficient nature of homelessness.

“Research shows that people who are chronically homeless actually account for less than 10 percent, but they tend to use the bulk of shelter resources and tend to be more expensive in terms of their use of emergency resources, hospitalizations, justice resources, etcetera,” Byrne said.

Byrne said the city’s previous homelessness programs came out of a desperate need for renovation.

“It’s really important, the way the homeless system came into being,” Byrne said. “It wasn’t the product of a well-thought-out design. It was a response to people sleeping on the streets. Now what’s going on across the country is people are really trying to rethink this for people who are facing housing crises to access the resources that they need, and that’s what this is really about — to help make a more streamlined system.”

Byrne said the program would hopefully act as a connection between resources for the homeless population, which are otherwise less effective.

“[Before], people would enter the system at all different places and get routed to all different programs,” Byrne said. “There was no guarantee that they were going to get the actual help that they need, so I think this system is the right step in the right direction for people to access the type of help that they need for their specific crises.”

Green River CEO Michael Knapp said the new system will play a major role in terminating chronic homelessness in Boston.

“We were incredibly enthusiastic about responding … because we want to do our part to end homelessness,” Knapp said. “This is very much in line with our mission of trying to use technology for social good.”

Knapp explained how the new system will work in conjunction with already existing systems.

“Boston’s situation is complex because there is a lot of existing infrastructure, in terms of folks who serve the homeless to more permanent places,” Knapp said. “Our job is to build a tool that doesn’t disrupt existing systems, but instead works with them. I think Boston’s right not to replace the system, but it does create some challenges.”

Knapp said Boston is one of many major cities across the United States that has taken action in working through the homelessness crisis.

“I don’t know if you’ve seen San Francisco’s situation,” Knapp said. “[The] techies of San Francisco are taking over every neighborhood, skyrocketing rent prices and putting people on the streets. We’ve seen a lot of harsh criticisms, and they’re going to be next to do something about their homeless.”

Several Boston residents said they were optimistic about the program.

Rosanne Foley, 63, of Dorchester, said the program would be a positive step in solving one of Boston’s main issues.

“I think it’s a wonderful endeavor on Walsh’s part,” she said. “Homelessness is such a key issue in Boston, but I didn’t know that chronic homelessness was so prevalent. There are so many people who have to live on the streets, from veterans to families to even children. It’s about time technology was incorporated to making Boston better for the homeless.”

Dorothy Clark, 55, of South Boston, said while much has been done about homelessness in Boston, she hopes the program will finish the job.

“Mayor Walsh has done a good job of getting veterans off the street, but they’re definitely still there,” she said. “I hope that the technology works out, and it sounds to me like it’s a good program.”

Orlanda Jeffers, 24, of South Boston, said she hopes the program will simplify the way the homelessness issue is handled.

“I know some people who go from shelter to shelter,” she said. “It gets expensive, and it can get complicated. It seems like Mayor Walsh is really trying to do the right thing. I know a lot of people who would appreciate some calmness to the whole system.”