David DeCourcey is a 37-year-old Boston local who currently works at the Devine Recovery Center as a peer to peer specialist. His experience with recovery allows him to connect deeper with those who come to Devine. He has two sons, Joseph, 14, and David Jr.,15, who help drive his recovery process. photo by Jakob Menendez…
Homeless Bill of Rights Takes Aim at Housing Discrimination
A good house is hard to find—which is why a homeless mother of three seeking to leave a homeless shelter was thrilled to find an apartment within her price range close to an elementary school in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Her hopes were dashed, however, when the landlord denied her application because she would be renting with…
Boston to make case for new Long Island bridge to Quincy
The City of Boston is hoping to convey that rebuilding a bridge to Long Island is the best option for accessing and reopening a recovery campus for addicts during a meeting on Tuesday, May 7, in Quincy. The public meeting, being held at the Kennedy Center facility for the Quincy Council on Aging at 7…
Boston Announces $5 Million Investment in Youth Homelessness, Affordable Housing
Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced he would commit $ 5 million, generated by the Commonwealth’s new short term rental law, to increase affordable housing opportunities and remedy chronic homelessness in Boston, as part of his 2020 (FY20) operating budget proposal. As part of the short term rental law, Walsh plans to increase Boston’s Room Occupancy…
Shelters Shouldn’t Do the State’s job
When I read that Pine Street Inn was planning to create 140 units of housing by putting up a five to six story building in Jamaica Plain I nearly fell over, and not from joy. For years I’ve been a staunch believer that shelter agencies, including Pine Street Inn, should not double as landlords. Why?…
Cambridge eyes major zoning relief for affordable developments
Cambridge City Hall. Cambridge City Council dedicated the March 20 Housing Committee meeting to hearing public comments on the 100% Affordable Housing Zoning Overlay. The proposal would allow developers of affordable housing exclusively for low and medium income renters to build significantly more densely and with a streamlined permit process citywide. The meeting drew a…
Bathrooms for customers only: Peeing with dignity in the city
Everyone needs to use washrooms, but public washrooms are hard to find. Just ask anyone with colitis, or who has ever cared for a child who really needs to go. Toronto, for example, has only one free and public washroom for every 9,213 residents. So, where do we go, when we really need to go? Whether…
‘I Always Came Back’: A Story of Survival
“Hey, baby!” Linda Burston, with an illuminating smile and wide eyes, greets every woman who comes through the doors of Women’s Lunch Place. They always know when Linda is in the room; even among the clink clank of dishes being piled high, the scraping of metal fork against ceramic plate, the hum of conversation among dozens of…
Boston receives millions to support chronically homeless in the city
Boston has been selected as one of the communities to receive federal funding from HUD for the creation of housing and to support homeless assistance programs. Mayor Martin Walsh announced the funding in a press release on Wednesday which states that nearly $26.3 million will be used to benefit Boston’s Way Home, a program dedicated…
Volunteers Build Beds for Homeless People at Boston Latin
Hundreds came out in single digit weather to attend the 13th annual Boston Cares’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, held at the Boston Latin School for the third year in a row, on Monday, Jan. 21. Among them were many news faces who took to various service programs throughout the school, which included…