Two Harvard students have signed the lease for a cafe that would employ homeless youth in Cambridge. Breaktime is a cafe that has a mission beyond serving coffee and scones; the plan is to provide job training and stable employment for Cambridge’s economically insecure youth. Harvard undergraduates Tony Shu and Connor Schoen teamed up to…
Boston progresses in goal to end chronic homelessness, despite large inflow over last two years
In a roundtable with the press on August 16, the City of Boston announced that their effort to house the chronically homeless population is seeing results, reducing the population by 20 percent since 2016. Since 2016, the city of Boston has housed 580 chronically homeless individuals — the start of Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s “Boston’s…
Boston receives federal grant to help homeless youth
Mayor Walsh poses with members of the Bridge Over Troubled Waters community. Photo by author. On Tuesday, July 17, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that Boston will be one of 11 communities to receive a part of a $43 million dollar grant to help end youth homelessness. The announcement was made…
Two women look to fight eviction while most of their older housemates face a similar fate
Judy Burnette and Lydia Eccles, residents of Our Lady’s Guild House, stand in front of housing court. Photo: Seth Rosczewski. Before stepping foot in housing court on the morning of July 12, Lydia Eccles was given support by her neighbor and friend Judy Burnette along with members of City Life/Vida Urbana, who held a press…
Report: Census Undercount Could Undermine Well-Being of Mass. Children
BOSTON – The latest figures on the well-being of children show Massachusetts remains second in the nation, but child advocates fear trouble ahead. In the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book, the Bay State shows improvement in eight of 16 categories covering economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. But Laura…
The heartbreaking, life-affirming story of the Street Kids’ World Cup
For three of the nine teenagers in the team from Kenya, playing football in the Street Child World Cup has been liberating in a literal sense; to take part in the event in Moscow the trio were released from a juvenile detention centre in Mombasa, where they are being held after being rounded up on…
Poor People’s Campaign Has Champion in Warren
BOSTON – Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., held a hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday afternoon that focused on issues raised by the Poor People’s Campaign, including economic inequality, union rights and voter suppression. Massachusetts is one of 35 states where protesters have engaged for five weeks in civil disobedience, joining events to demand paid-leave…
Panel discusses how racial equity can help solve homelessness
The speakers who discussed racial equity as a solution to homelessness, from left to right: Dr. Monica Bharel, Julia Tripp, and Jeff Olivet. On Thursday, June 14, the Center for Social Innovation held a discussion at The Nonprofit Center in downtown Boston about systemic racism and its impact on the homeless population—and how improving racial…
Bill Aims to Protect Hungry Kids From Being Shamed Over School Lunch Debt
A cold sandwich is what students may get instead of the hot lunch they wanted at some Massachusetts public schools. They often are humiliated, sometimes to tears, when denied their lunch, and some are even confronted about their parents’ debt by cafeteria workers. State Sen. Cynthia Creem, D-Newton, and Rep. Andres Vargas, D-Haverhill, have filed…
HUD’s Rent Increases and Work Requirements Called ‘Unconscionable and Immoral’
Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Ben Carson, proposed changes to rent structures that are sparking backlash from housing advocates and prominent legislators on Capitol Hill. The change in rent structures calls for a five percent increase in monthly rent contributions based on a family’s monthly income or the amount earned by an individual working 15…