Boston Disability Board Backs Captioning Bill, Splits on End-of-Life Stance

BOSTON — April 17, 2024 — Boston's Disability Commission Advisory Board approved a letter of support for a statewide open captioning bill and adopted an 8-1 statement of neutrality on end-of-life options legislation at its April 17 meeting. Board Chair Wes Ireland presided over a session that featured a presentation from the Mayor's Office of Housing, where Supportive Housing Division Director Amanda Kwok and Assistant Director Jim Green reported that Boston's Continuum of Care received a record $47.7 million HUD award in January 2024, funding 43 projects, and that 46.69 percent of the roughly 14,000 individuals who touched the city's homeless service system in 2023 reported at least one disabling condition. Green disclosed a separate $16.5 million HUD grant over three years for unsheltered homelessness and floated the idea of a formal liaison between his office and the advisory board. Disability Commissioner Kristen McCosh told the board that a City Council hearing order from Councilor Fitzgerald proposing accessible parking placards for pregnant individuals in their third trimester is largely unnecessary because a temporary disability placard is already available under existing law if pregnancy causes a qualifying disability. One board member, who identified himself as Richard, voted against the neutrality statement, saying he had studied the end-of-life bills and found them "wonderful" and worth supporting.