The Somerville Public Health and Safety Committee received an update from the city's Health and Human Services and housing staff on programs for unhoused residents, emergency-winter sheltering and harm-reduction pilots.

Director of Health and Human Services (HHS) Carroll told the committee the emergency warming center operated nightly this winter, averaging 33–37 people per night and sometimes sheltering 2–3 dogs. Weekly coordination calls with the emergency-management office and the vendor (Housing Families) were held to manage operations and client needs. Carroll said the warming center will close in early to mid-April and staff plan to distribute transition resources to guests.

Carroll described a set of harm-reduction and public-health pilot projects: delivery this week of dual needle kiosks (accepting individual syringes and sealed containers) and an RFP-closed procurement to pilot two public-health vending machines this spring and summer. The vending machines — secure, card/code-accessed kiosks that dispense items in discrete packaging — will be stocked after community focus groups identify needs; potential items include Narcan, test strips, menstrual products and seasonal items like sunscreen or cold-weather supplies.

HHS reported that community health workers performed outreach in Davis Square and East Somerville in 2024, enrolling 181 clients and helping many access SNAP and MassHealth through referrals. The city also received approximately $119,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to buy cold-weather sleeping supplies, hotel vouchers if warming capacity is exceeded and Somerville meal vouchers to pilot food access for people using homeless services. The funds are available through June 2026, Carroll said.

On the annual point-in-time (PIT) count, preliminary figures show about 12 unsheltered individuals on the January 29 count night and 35 in the emergency warming center; that unsheltered count is lower than last year's reported ~26 unsheltered on the PIT night, though Carroll cautioned that final PIT reporting from partners was still pending and comparisons require an apples-to-apples review.

Carroll also noted other partnerships: a Tufts University community-based research class evaluating the health clinic for people experiencing homelessness, and a newly hired HHS prevention director and other staff increases. The committee asked for additional data (frequency of warming-center full-capacity days, and hotel-voucher usage) and Carroll said staff will return with more precise numbers and an after-action review once the season ends.

Ending: Councilors thanked staff for the update and asked staff to return with final PIT numbers and a post-winter review of the warming center and pilot items.