For the past 26 years, Food For Free, the Cambridge-based food-rescue organization, in partnership with Lindentree Farms in Lincoln, has set aside a quarter of an acre of land to grow produce to feed homeless people. Over the past two years alone, the nonprofit grew between 4,800 to 6,000 pounds of produce to help feed…
Invisible Nation: Author Richard Schweid Discusses Family Homelessness
In 2002 Tennessee-born author Richard Schweid found himself checking in to a rundown motel outside of Detroit. Brought there by his research for his 2004 book on transportation in contemporary Cuba, Schweid had no idea that he was about to stumble upon an entire community that exists across the United States hidden in plain sight:…
‘New Joelyn’s Home’ women’s shelter opens in Roxbury
Kelly Rapoza tried detox, intensive outpatient programs and Alcoholics Anonymous, but she still couldn’t kick her struggle with alcoholism. Sick, homeless and having recently lost custody of her young son, she entered yet another detox program in 2014, and from there she transitioned into Joelyn’s Family Home, a residential treatment facility on Boston Harbor’s Long…
City HeART puts at-risk artists on Display
Homeless artist Mel poses with his paintings at the City HeART exhibit. All photos: Alejandro Ramirez. The 7th Annual City HeART Art Show and Sale featured the work of artists dealing with poverty, ranging from those struggling with low incomes to the currently homeless. The event took place at the Prudential Center on Saturday, May…
Formerly homeless woman leads street backpack program in Nashville
Twelve years ago, Hurricane Ivan ripped through Jessica Thurmond’s neighborhood, destroying the house where she had been living. The 18-year-old in Florida was soon forced to live in her car while working multiple jobs. One of her jobs was at a gym, which meant she could use the facility’s shower and have a locker for…
Boston sees continued success housing the homeless, but still more work to do
Mayor Marty Walsh at the 2014 opening of Southampton Street Shelter. Photo: Zengzheng Wang. On Thursday, Boston officials announced that their push to end chronic individual homelessness has resulted in housing 301 individuals since the start of 2016. This is in addition to the 846 veterans they have housed since 2015. The new numbers reflect…
BPHC Knew a Year Ago That Transitional Programs Would Close
The closure of two successful transitional housing programs in Boston has created an urgent need for the 40 people who live there, but according to recent testimony at a Boston City Council Committee on Homelessness, Mental Health and Recovery hearing, this situation didn’t have to be an emergency. After prodding by Boston City Councilor Tito…
Homeless women face a different set of problems
The number of homeless people in the United States has been increasing rapidly over the past several years and women have been among the fastest growing group. Among the most advanced nations, the United States has the highest number of homeless women and children. Of homeless women, 60% have children who are under 18, but…
Commission releases report on senior LGBT housing
A report by the Cambridge LGBTQ+ Commission on LGBT seniors living in housing run by the Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) recommended that the CHA sponsor programming for people who identify as LGBT, include gender identity as a protected class in the CHA anti-discrimination policy and collect information about how many LGBT seniors live in CHA…
It Makes No Sense: Why close successful transitional programs?
Last week homeless activists got some sobering news: two transitional programs have been shut down. Project SOAR and Safe Harbor are gone. Just like that, bang, both programs, which have been highly successful, have been shut down. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. What exactly is a transitional program, you ask? It’s pretty simple:…