City Councilor Felix G. Arroyo, a Jamaica Plain resident, was named the the City’s new chief of Health and Human Services by Mayor Martin Walsh.
Arroyo, who started the job Jan. 6, was not immediately available for comment. Arroyo ran his own mayoral campaign last year. After losing in the preliminary election, he became a key supporter of Walsh’s campaign.
Among Arroyo’s efforts on the City Council was investigating causes of Boston’s high asthma rates. Arroyo himself suffers from asthma.
The City’s previous Human Services chief, Daphne Griffin, also is a JP resident.
Under former Mayor Thomas Menino, the Human Services department included Boston Centers for Youth & Families, the Office of Civil Rights, the Disabilities Commission, the Elderly Commission, the Emergency Shelter Commission, the Veteran’s Services Department, the Women’s Fund and the Youth Fund. Under Menino in recent years, the department did not have “Health” in its title, and Walsh may be restructuring it. The separate Boston Public Health Commission has long been led by JP resident Dr. Barbara Ferrer.
Felix G. Arroyo, chief of Health and Human Services. (Courtesy Photo)