Lynn creates Downtown Health and Safety Task Force: what the mayor’s order does
Mayor Jared Nicholson has issued an emergency executive order creating a Downtown Lynn Health and Safety Task Force, citing rising homelessness, substance use and mental health crises downtown. The order, announced Oct. 1, gives the task force 90 days to recommend a plan.
Quick facts
- What: Downtown Lynn Health and Safety (DLHS) Task Force, created by emergency executive order
- Co-chairs: Police Chief Chris Kelly and Lisa Tobin, Chief of Health and Human Services
- Deadline: recommendations within 90 days
- Public input: the task force will present to the City Council and hold a town hall for residents and businesses
- How long the order lasts: until further notice
What the task force will do
The task force is charged with a plan for better collaboration with treatment programs, healthcare providers, state agencies, landlords, businesses, residents, neighboring communities and the courts. The city will also seek quotes from outside vendors to run the process and write a final report, and the task force is encouraged to apply for money from the city’s Opioid Working Group.
Why the mayor says it’s needed
According to the Lynn Police Department, police received 9,441 calls for the downtown between Aug. 20, 2025, and Aug. 20, 2026, leading to 463 arrests and 812 charges. Police say 2026 is on pace for at least as many calls. The city reports a marked increase in complaints about property damage, discarded needles and violence downtown.
“We need this task force to let us know what else we can be doing to address this critical issue and come up with a realistic long-term plan,” Nicholson said.
“We will enforce the law when enforcement is necessary, but we also recognize that enforcement alone does not solve every problem,” Kelly said.
What the city has already done
- Opioid overdose deaths fell from 70 in 2017 to four so far in 2026, the order notes
- Four housing projects, complete or under construction, will add 162 units for people experiencing homelessness, with case management
- The Lynn Shelter Association and the Public Health department opened an expanded day program with treatment access, a medical room and restrooms
- Community cameras downtown, more bike patrols, the return of the police motorcycle unit and closer work with MBTA Transit Police
- Encampments were cleared on private parcels on the Lynnway and an MBTA parcel behind 195 Market St.
For more city news, see Lynn news.
Sources: Office of Mayor Jared Nicholson, via Lynn Community TV.
More Lynn news
- Centro de Lectura offers free dyslexia evaluations in October
- Lynn hosts open houses on South Harbor waterfront renewal plan
- Lynn extends deadline for up to $100,000 in substance use disorder funding
- Two Lynn nonprofits win $423,000 to build kitchens that feed local kids
- Senior Housing Breaks Ground — Lynn Welcomes Solimine House
- A Latina Leader Steps Up — Lynn’s North Shore Women Connect Gets New President