Health commission outlines FY27 priorities; debate centers on community mental-health pilot funding
May 21, 2026 | Boston City, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
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Chair Ben Weber convened the Boston City Council Ways and Means hearing on May 21 to review the Boston Public Health CommissionY27 budget and hear public comment on crisis-response funding.
The commission's presentation, led by Commissioner and Executive Director Doctor Bissell Ojukwu, reviewed child, adolescent and family services, maternal and infant health initiatives, the Office of Violence Prevention and infectious-disease preparedness for large events. Ojukwu said the Child, Adolescent and Family bureau provided clinical services to “more than 1,200 young people” in FY26 and that school-based health centers staffed eight sites providing both medical and mental-health services.
Why it matters: councilors focused on how the commission proposes to expand non-police mental-health responses ahead of a summer of large events and on preserving services for populations with high need.
The commission described a community-led, peer-run mental-health crisis pilot now heading to procurement. "The RFP will be issued in the next few weeks," Ojukwu told councilors, adding the hope "we'll be able to launch a pilot in fall of 2026." Ojukwu said the pilot is intended to "complement not replace other behavioral-health and emergency response and public-safety efforts" and to offer culturally responsive crisis care.
On budgeted funding, council members and staff repeatedly returned to the dollars available. During questioning, a councilor pressed the panel on cost; Ojukwu and Budget Director Chris Valdez stated the Health Commission-side funding identified for a pilot is $1.7 million. "It's 1.7 million," Valdez confirmed when asked about the funding level; staff later clarified that the amount is budgeted over a 22-month period.
Councilors also asked how a pilot would operate in practice: where it would be sited, how dispatch and triage would work and what safety or escalation protocols would exist if a responder encountered a situation that required law-enforcement or medical assistance. Ojukwu said the RFP is intentionally flexible to allow applicants to propose operational models, that the RFP is targeted toward Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury but final site selection depends on applicants, and that a community advisory board and evaluation procedures would be part of oversight.
Public testimony afterward was dominated by advocates pressing the council for larger, citywide investment in a non-police crisis response. Representatives of the Boston People's Response (BPR) campaign asked the council to reject the mayor's proposed cuts elsewhere in the budget and add $4 million for a fully community-led, 24/7, non-police pilot. "We are urging you all to fully fund this pilot at $4 million," a BPR speaker told the committee. The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute urged continued or expanded funding for long-term homicide-survivor services and requested a three-year commitment totaling $1 million annually.
Exchanges at the hearing highlighted a gap between the commission's procurement timeline and funding level (RFP soon; $1.7 million over 22 months) and community organizers' demand for a larger, cityfunded model ($4 million). Councilors signaled they expect to examine proposals closely for safety features, triage/dispatch procedures and measures of success, and asked the commission to return specifics on evaluation metrics and neighborhood targeting.
What happens next: the commission will issue the RFP for the peer-led pilot and the council will consider budget amendments during the FY27 process. Advocates said they will press the council to restore or add funds in the final budget cycle.
Quotes
"The RFP will be issued in the next few weeks...we're hoping to launch a pilot in fall of 2026," Doctor Bissell Ojukwu, Commissioner and Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, said during the presentation.
"It's 1.7 million," Budget Director Chris Valdez said when asked by councilors about the amount the commission has identified for the pilot on its side of the budget.
"We are urging you all to fully fund this pilot at $4 million," a representative of the Boston People's Response campaign said during public testimony.
Ending
Councilors closed the hearing after hours of questioning and more than an hour of public testimony, leaving the RFP timeline and differences over pilot funding as the central outstanding items for the FY27 budget process. The committee will consider the commission's budget request alongside any proposed amendments before final council action.
The commission's presentation, led by Commissioner and Executive Director Doctor Bissell Ojukwu, reviewed child, adolescent and family services, maternal and infant health initiatives, the Office of Violence Prevention and infectious-disease preparedness for large events. Ojukwu said the Child, Adolescent and Family bureau provided clinical services to “more than 1,200 young people” in FY26 and that school-based health centers staffed eight sites providing both medical and mental-health services.
Why it matters: councilors focused on how the commission proposes to expand non-police mental-health responses ahead of a summer of large events and on preserving services for populations with high need.
The commission described a community-led, peer-run mental-health crisis pilot now heading to procurement. "The RFP will be issued in the next few weeks," Ojukwu told councilors, adding the hope "we'll be able to launch a pilot in fall of 2026." Ojukwu said the pilot is intended to "complement not replace other behavioral-health and emergency response and public-safety efforts" and to offer culturally responsive crisis care.
On budgeted funding, council members and staff repeatedly returned to the dollars available. During questioning, a councilor pressed the panel on cost; Ojukwu and Budget Director Chris Valdez stated the Health Commission-side funding identified for a pilot is $1.7 million. "It's 1.7 million," Valdez confirmed when asked about the funding level; staff later clarified that the amount is budgeted over a 22-month period.
Councilors also asked how a pilot would operate in practice: where it would be sited, how dispatch and triage would work and what safety or escalation protocols would exist if a responder encountered a situation that required law-enforcement or medical assistance. Ojukwu said the RFP is intentionally flexible to allow applicants to propose operational models, that the RFP is targeted toward Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury but final site selection depends on applicants, and that a community advisory board and evaluation procedures would be part of oversight.
Public testimony afterward was dominated by advocates pressing the council for larger, citywide investment in a non-police crisis response. Representatives of the Boston People's Response (BPR) campaign asked the council to reject the mayor's proposed cuts elsewhere in the budget and add $4 million for a fully community-led, 24/7, non-police pilot. "We are urging you all to fully fund this pilot at $4 million," a BPR speaker told the committee. The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute urged continued or expanded funding for long-term homicide-survivor services and requested a three-year commitment totaling $1 million annually.
Exchanges at the hearing highlighted a gap between the commission's procurement timeline and funding level (RFP soon; $1.7 million over 22 months) and community organizers' demand for a larger, cityfunded model ($4 million). Councilors signaled they expect to examine proposals closely for safety features, triage/dispatch procedures and measures of success, and asked the commission to return specifics on evaluation metrics and neighborhood targeting.
What happens next: the commission will issue the RFP for the peer-led pilot and the council will consider budget amendments during the FY27 process. Advocates said they will press the council to restore or add funds in the final budget cycle.
Quotes
"The RFP will be issued in the next few weeks...we're hoping to launch a pilot in fall of 2026," Doctor Bissell Ojukwu, Commissioner and Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, said during the presentation.
"It's 1.7 million," Budget Director Chris Valdez said when asked by councilors about the amount the commission has identified for the pilot on its side of the budget.
"We are urging you all to fully fund this pilot at $4 million," a representative of the Boston People's Response campaign said during public testimony.
Ending
Councilors closed the hearing after hours of questioning and more than an hour of public testimony, leaving the RFP timeline and differences over pilot funding as the central outstanding items for the FY27 budget process. The committee will consider the commission's budget request alongside any proposed amendments before final council action.
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