Boston Users Union

We want to be sure drug user voices -OUR voices - are included & amplified so we have a seat at EVERY table where our lives, health & communities are discussed!

[Scott Hechinger @ScottHech]

🚨PEOPLE: It is really happening. The Minneapolis City Council *just* announced their intent to disband the Police Department & replace it w/ a new community-led system that truly prioritizes the safety & health of community. Transformation. Not “reform.”https://t.co/N7VuzfemA0

[#NoNewWomensPrison @PplNotPrisons]

Formerly incarcerated women lead by @justicehealing have been seeking a meeting with our governor @CharlieBakerMA since March. More than ever, Baker needs to listen to the experts on incarceration, the women who have been in his jails & prison. Take action https://t.co/6UlqmzGOKa

[marginalutilite @marginalutilite]

1/2 Speaking to MPLS harm reductionists/street medics on USU call right now about supplies to send---they want ppl to amplify again that the bystander/accessory cop said "this is what happens when you use drugs" while murdering him.(Toxicology showed nothing but maybe weed).

[Massachusetts Bail Fund @MassBailFund]

The bail posting we did last night was for someone held pre-trial for FIVE years. He's home with family now. Three more bails on deck. We have NEW #FreeThemAll shirts to help us get more people out
https://t.co/e9rpw17dLA

[Ethan Corey @EthanSCorey]

The folks at @ACLU_Mass just released this data tool for tracking police incidents in Boston -- looks pretty sick: https://t.co/OInhnG5vvY

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

This is looking to be a great webinar & way to join a conversation with folks from the DEA & harm reductionists & treatment providers about changes in methadone therapy & other treatment protocols.

Check it out! 👇

[mello @itizmello]

I am asking Mayors @marty_walsh to call on @MassGovernor to release people from prison, house all people, resource communities most impacted by #COVID19 and reimagine our state without incarceration! #FreeOurFamilies #FreeThenAll4PublicHealth #ReimaginingCommunities

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

🚨Buying cell phones, SIM cards, group plans & lock-boxes for survival #sexworker members on #methadone to be eligible for take-homes are important often overlooked needs for folks who are unhoused/under-housed.

Having a working phone & take homes makes life so much easier
💸👇

[marginalutilite @marginalutilite]

"We hope you can help us with this effort even as the coronavirus prematurely fades from the national consciousness. It is now when we need you most." https://t.co/fQdkbqX335

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

Please help out Who's Corner who are in dire straits now - hustling non-stop to provide #MutualAid & #harmreduction tools to survival #sexworkers in Western Mass!

Every $ goes to the needs of some of the most impacted community members who FAR too often fall thru the cracks. ❤

[marginalutilite @marginalutilite]

Rn,yr $ goes to honorariums,phones,lockboxes for methadone take-homes,info handouts,#harmreduction supplies (syringes,Narcan,smoking kits,all the fixings...), hygiene supplies (Everclear spray,mouthwash,gloves for handling cash)...no bloat, all mutual aid. https://t.co/fQdkbqX335

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

📢

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

👇 Damn right.

We STILL get
"well meth is different cuz ..."

Just like we got
"well opioids are different cuz ..."

for so long (& often still do) from some drug policy academics & harm reduction-leaning medical providers.

[Families for Justice as Healing @justicehealing]

What we're hearing about Framingham:

*Women are extremely scared and stressed

*People moved to the quarantine unit and not allowed to take ANYTHING not even a bible - why punish people more who are infected?!

*Recirculated air, no fresh air

A total nightmare.

#FreeHer

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

*Many ppl on SSDI also get SSI on 1st!*

Link to file for SSI recipients w/ children:
https://t.co/bidfl1lkz2

(If you use Direct Express card for Social Security 💰 or if it's deposited in a bank account monthly than the IRS has said to leave the boxes for bank acct info blank.)

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

🚨💸 ATTENTION!💸🚨
ALL SOCIAL SECURITY SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME (SSI) recipients *W/ CHILDREN under 18* in your care:

You MUST fill out a short form online to get the extra 💸$500💸 per child in your household from the stimulus bill!

Deadline is now May 5!

https://t.co/nAAcA3elQj

[Families for Justice as Healing @justicehealing]

This is entirely the fault of @MACorrections

All of this unnecessary sickness and suffering. DOC totally refused to release even elderly and sick women,

AND completely mismanaged the prison by screwing up quarantine units, waiting to test, and this brutal ineffective lockdown.

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

#FreeThemAll
#FreeThemAll4PublicHealth
#FreeHer @justicehealing @CourtWatchMA @PLSMA

[wburdebbecker @wburdebbecker]

MCI Framingham now has highest number of prisoners testing positive for coronavirus of any Massachusetts prison. DOC reports today 66 prisoners tested positive - up from 28 prisoners yesterday. 14 staff there also positive.

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

Link to file for Social Security recipients with children under 18 is here:

https://t.co/bidfl1lkz2

(If you use a Direct Express card for Social Security 💰 or if it's deposited in a bank account monthly than the IRS has said to leave the boxes for bank account info blank.)

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

Stand w/ @PplNotPrisons & @justicehealing to build up

**PEOPLE**
___NOT___
PRISONS.

#FreeHer! #FreeThemAll!

[Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts @PLSMA]

A fifth prisoner in MA has died from COVID-19 - this time a person who was housed in MCI-Shirley. In the DOC alone, there are 98 confirmed cases among prisoners. We must act now.

[Boston Users Union @BOSUsersUnion]

This is what you wanna read right now.
👇

[marginalutilite @marginalutilite]

Opioid agonist treatment patients shouldn’t be forced to choose between increased overdose risk & increased COVID-19 risk in the midst of facing down both epidemics. We at Urban Survivors Union wrote a demand letter to stakeholders & decision makers: https://t.co/dnPtl5nhZS