City councilors in Revere, Massachusetts, unanimously approved a motion to strengthen safety measures at state-run emergency shelters.
Monday evening’s vote comes after police discovered $1 million worth of drugs and an AR-15 at a shelter in the city. Leonardo Andujar Sanchez is facing state and federal charges.
“In this instance, the commonwealth’s decision-making process failed us miserably,” City Councilor Michelle Kelley said at the meeting.
Get top local stories in Boston delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Boston’s News Headlines newsletter.
Councilors noted the 10 pounds of fentanyl police say they found inside the shelters could kill about 2 million people.
“The right to shelter law was never meant to be used the way it’s being used now,” said Revere City Councilor Anthony Zambuto. “It’s been corrupted.”
Kelley introduced the motion to improve safety, and it passed unanimously.
“It is appalling that a state-run resource, funded by taxpayer dollars, operating under a unique right to shelter law, was so fundamentally flawed,” she said.
The measure calls for a vetting process for people who live in emergency shelters, for the representatives from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to appear before the Revere City Council, and for Gov. Maura Healey’s administration to provide a plan to ensure that individuals who are already in the emergency shelter system are not engaging in illegal activity.
“What’s done is done, but we have to make sure that these things don’t happen again in the future — and I think the governor admitted that these processes and procedures were not being followed,” Kelley told NBC10 Boston.
More Revere news
Massachusetts
Jan 7
Healey says room inspections at shelters will be ‘done lawfully' after Revere arrest
Revere
Jan 8
‘A very smooth transaction': Kelly's Roast Beef sold to private equity firm
Massachusetts
Dec 9, 2024
Revere police officer placed on leave after OUI crash
With most shelters not performing criminal background checks, Kelley pointed to public records released by the Healey administration showing that over 1,000 serious incidents were reported at state shelters between January 2023 and August 2024.
“This is a lapse in judgement, a clear failure of due diligence, and a prime example of common sense being thrown out the window,” Kelley said.
Healey has ordered criminal background checks for shelters, also saying she plans to initiate an outside review on safety protocols for shelters.
The office of Mayor Patrick Keefe says Healey’s office has been cooperative so far.