All photos: Alejandro Ramirez After a public meeting full of disruption from affordable housing advocates and a nearly 48 hour sit-in at the mayor’s waiting room, the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) passed the contested Plan JP/Rox development plan. Advocates, mostly from Jamaica Plain’s Keep It 100% for Egleston, packed the hearing on Thursday…
Activists Urge Lawmakers to Increase State Funding for Shelters and Programs
Joli Sparkman, owner of A Stitch in Time Textiles in Southbridge, shares her story of being homeless in Nurses Hall at the Statehouse. Photo: Jordan Frias. Homeless advocates appeared at the State House on Thursday, Feb. 16, to let local policymakers know that they need an increase in state funding for the services they’ve been…
Advocates stake out, sit in at City Hall over affordable housing
All photos: Alejandro Ramirez On Tuesday night, a group of housing advocates crowded Mayor Marty Walsh’s waiting room at Boston City Hall to negotiate higher rates of affordable housing at a new development the overlaps the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods. It ended with a handful of activists staging a sit-in after being told to…
Davis Square bar’s Mardi Gras concert will benefit local homeless coalition
Photo: Sweet Wednesday It will be a sweet Sunday when the band Sweet Wednesday takes the stage on Sunday, February 26 to perform in a Mardi Gras-style concert to benefit the Somerville Homeless Coalition at the Burren. Donations collected at the free event, which will take place from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., will go…
HUD 101: Housing Advocates Brace For Changes Under Trump Administration
On Feb. 7, 2017, a small group came together at the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain to learn about the change in administration at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Hosted by City Mission, the panel included speakers the Rev. June Cooper, Eric Shupin, Lynda Watson, Michael Kane and Mehreen Butt.…
First ever Winter Walk shares Homeless experiences, stories
All Photos: Evgenia Eliseeva The first Winter Walk took place Sunday, Feb. 12 seeking to address the needs of Boston’s homeless community and share the real stories and struggles of this population. As we trudge through the coldest month of the year, thankful for many luxuries we deem standard commodities, our city’s homeless individuals are…
Abuse of Homeless People at North Station Causes TD Garden to Rethink its Security
Allegations against several security guards who monitored the North Station area of the TD Garden have caused the company to sever ties with a contractor following the arrest of a man who police say viciously attacked a homeless man days before Christmas. Rene Norestant Jr., 27, of Everett was charged with two counts of assault…
Point in time count 2017
At last year’s point in time count—the city’s annual homeless census where groups of volunteers physically count the homeless folks they see in the streets—Mayor Marty Walsh had recently announced the City of Boston functionally ended veteran homelessness. This year, to a crowd of 400 volunteers, he announced that two-and-a-half years of housing first initiatives…
At Final HYPET Meeting of 2016, Advocates Talk Midterm State Budget Cuts, Homeless Bill of Rights
Representatives from across Massachusetts met on Dec. 8 for the year’s final Homeless Youth Providers Engaging Together (HYPET) meeting, a monthly discussion that brings together youth and young adult advocates to trade information about policy, trends and programming. The gathering was held at Bridge Over Troubled Waters, an organization that provides support services to runaway…
Rosie’s Place Spreads Christmas Cheer in Franklin Field
With the holiday season in full swing, Rosie’s Place co-hosted a party at the Franklin Field public housing development. “Everyone deserves to celebrate and be celebrated,” said Erin Miller, Vice President of External Affairs for Rosie’s Place. About 80 guests, which included tenants and their families, enjoyed holiday cookies, a dinner buffet, gifts, and mingling…