Former patients of a treatment facility run by the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office— along with Dorchester City Councillor John FitzGerald— are going to bat for the program as lawmakers weigh moving all Section 35 involuntary commitment facilities for substance use out of jails or prisons and into facilities licensed or approved by the Departments of Public or Mental Health.

Ludlow’s Stonybrook Stabilization and Treatment Center treats men struggling with substance use disorder who have been involuntarily committed for up to 90 days under the state law known as Section 35.

Sen. Cindy Friedman and Reps. Marjorie Decker and Margaret Scarsdale have filed a proposal requiring that facilities or secure facilities where men are sent for treatment may not include “any jail or correctional facili

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