Cuts Force 26 Layoffs in Boston

Boston city officials said on Wednesday that 26 municipal workers were laid off and a half-dozen social service programs -- including AIDS testing, teen mental health counseling and emergency care for domestic violence victims -- were eliminated in response to state budget cuts. AIDS counseling has been cut for high-risk patients at the Boston Medical Center and at the Suffolk County House of Correction. "It's horrible," said Cheryl Schaffer, deputy director of the AIDS Action Coalition. "You're taking an at-risk population and saying they can't have their services. And it means that it will be hard for people who may be infected to find out their status." The Department of Public Health faces $1.6 million in cuts. "There is no recourse," said John Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission. "There is nothing we can do. These programs have been zeroed out."

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