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…
Forum evaluates state of affordable housing in Massachusetts
Congresswoman Katherine Clark speaks a the housing forum on May 1. Photo: Boston Metro Housing/Bethany Versoy/V2Visuals Associates. On May 1, housing advocates and city and state officials gathered together for a forum about the condition of state and federal affordable housing programs, and what it means for housing throughout the Commonwealth. The event was hosted…
Rising Rents Continue to Put Pressure on Boston Tenants
The spring real estate market is under way, and the cost of rent in Boston is on the rise again in one of the country’s most expensive markets, raising the question of how people making average or below average incomes will continue to live in the city. According to Brielle Browne, Massachusetts and Connecticut realtor…
Cap on State Assistance for Children Challenged
Members of the Ways and Means House Committee were met with dozens of advocates during a session on Friday, March 16, at the Massachusetts State House who were in favor of lifting the welfare cap on kids conceived after families start to receive benefits. Current law denies assistance of up to $100 a month per…
Home and Healthy for Good Wins Hearst Health Award
The Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance (MHSA) has received the Hearst Health Prize for Excellence in Population Health. The prize recognizes MHSA’s Home & Healthy for Good (HHG) program, which was founded in 2006. The win was announced on Tuesday, March 20 at the 18th annual Population Health Colloquium in Philadelphia. “All of us at…
Housing Justice Activists Rally to Support Jim Brooks Act and Keep Tenants From Eviction
Over 150 people took to the streets of Roxbury on Saturday, March 17 to stand in solidarity with tenants facing eviction in the area, and to urge a state house vote on the Jim Brooks Act which would potentially curb housing displacement in Boston. Despite the rally’s large attendance and political support, the Massachusetts General…
Treat Homelessness Like the Health Issue It Is
Last spring a group of students, led by their Professor Dr. Debra Harkins, came up with Bill H.3933, which is based on an idea out of Hawaii that says homelessness should be treated as a medical condition; this could allow doctors to write prescriptions for housing. I know, it sounds far fetched, but when you…
Program That Brings Classical Music to Shelters Receives Grant
Photo: Julia McKenzie, Rebecca Strauss, and Rebecca Miller at Dimock women’s programs at Shelter Music Boston’s holiday concert in 2017. Courtesy. A private, boston-based charity is investing in music as a way to lift the spirits and lives of the city’s homeless. Shelter Music Boston (SMB), which employs professional musicians to perform classical concerts in…
United Nations report: U.S. has the wealth to end homelessness and chooses not to
In early December, United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston landed in Los Angeles, the first stop in his tour of extreme poverty in the United States. It was a Sunday, a day before he was scheduled to begin, but Alston said he had decided to get a head start on his mission. One of the…
Cycling for the Homeless
Photo: Courtesy Once a year in the financial district, and typically on a harsh, cold day, white-collar workers change from their office attire into their workout clothes and take a cycling class together outside. The event is called iCycle, and it’s organized by HomeStart, a nonprofit that has helped people find and maintain housing for…