Residents in Boston's South End said they've had enough of the drugs, crime and camps at the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue, better known as Mass and Cass.

At a public hearing with the city council Thursday night, some of the 130 people shared shocking stories and said something permanent needs to be done to clean up the neighborhood.

"It is ridiculous of what's gone on and everything has failed," said one resident.

At times, the stories shared brought gasps in the room. Ryan Rogers-Hammond lives in the South End and is a married mother of two with a PhD in biomedical science. Last month, she and her children were eating breakfast when they heard footsteps upstairs. A man got into her home and defecated in their living room. 

"He had two open warrants for violent crimes, a long-pointed stick and a bungee cord. What was that for?" she said.

Rogers-Hammond, and others who spoke, said human feces can be found all over the neighborhood. 

"It's on our sidewalks and our playgrounds and in my case, my home," she said.

Mass and Cass restaurant forced to close

Nivia Pina owns a Cuban restaurant, Dona Habana, with her husband at Mass and Cass. She said drug activity and crime at the intersection is forcing them to close.

"I have even depleted my 401k to keep the restaurant open. I have invested everything here and nothing happened. It's been nine years," Pina told the council. "We are not asking for money. We are not asking for anything. We are just asking the city to think outside of the box and stop these meetings." 

Other residents said the problem is no longer isolated to the intersection and that's it's spread around the South End.

"Stole more than $10,000 worth of belongings"

"Every morning my four-year-old son has to either step over a person, a needle or human waste when we leave our front door. That's his daily reality," said resident Emilie Schleer.

"We're being told that it's getting safer. But what I see is an administration trying to redefine what safety means," Schleer told the council. She said someone tried to break into her home just this week and that back in July a woman broke in while she was on vacation and stayed for days.

"She entered my home, slept in my bed, stole more than $10,000 worth of belongings and was out of jail again within a week," Schleer said.

Last month, Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn proposed declaring the drug use at the infamous intersection as a public health emergency, but Boston's health commissioner pushed back on that idea.

Residents proposed everything from a crackdown on arrests to longer term treatment programs. The city councilors in attendance said they would discuss the suggestions and hold another meeting to announce any policy changes.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was not at the meeting. Her opponent in her race for re-election, Josh Kraft was there, but did not speak.