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…
Thousands in Boston Gather to Protest at March for Science
The Boston Common was filled with thousands of people protesting for science on Saturday afternoon. The event, which was originally planned to be a march, was changed to a protest due to the overwhelming size of attendees. Although the website emphasized that the gathering would be nonpartisan, many of the speakers voiced concerns about President…
Two transitional programs closing in Boston due to HUD budget changes
A row of bunk beds at 112 Southampton Street Shelter. Photo: Zengzheng Wang. Two Boston transitional programs designed to help homeless addicts recover and find housing while providing them shelter and aid are closing down due to a change in funding at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The two programs are currently…
Boston schools commit one million dollars to homeless students for 2018
The Department of Education estimates that there may be as many as 37,000 homeless students in the Massachusetts public school system. New studies suggest that public school students in both Boston and New York City are at greater risk of homelessness during their school years. A Politico analysis of New York City found a 25…
Schools Programs Keep Hunger and Homelessness From Derailing Local Students
Bunker Hill Community College student Michael Curran knows what it’s like to be homeless and struggling in school. Curran, 28, of Medford, is among the many students who rely on the college’s Single Stop program for food and other resources to get by in life and in school. When asked how often he comes to…
OUT ON HER OWN: A Story of LGBTQ Youth Homelessness
Photo by Mike DeSocio. Author’s Note: The central character in this story, Liniște, asked that she be referred to by a pseudonym for safety reasons. I met Liniște in September and spent five months following her throughout various parts of her life, closely observing her experiences with homelessness and sexuality. This approach seemed most appropriate…
Harvard Law Students partner with Spare Change News
Harvard Law students Antoine Southern and Anne Rosenblum will be guiding Spare Change News vendors through the legal questions that come with being a small business owner. Courtesy photo We are third-year Harvard Law School students from the Transactional Law Clinics’ Community Enterprise Project, and we are partnering with Spare Change News to address some…
An Ohio volunteer’s perspective on Boston homelessness
Jimmy Longo and his fellow “Buck-I-Serve” volunteers. Photo courtesy of Jimmy Longo Growing up in Marion, Ohio—population 36,772—I never really saw homelessness in my 21 years of life. I never saw hordes of people without homes, without warm food or access to running water, without vital hygiene products— without hope. And then I visited Boston.…
Jetpac: The New Face of Diversity and Inclusion
Although Jetpac is an acronym that stands for Justice, Education, Technology, Policy and Advocacy Center, it’s much more than that for Muslim Americans. Shaun Kennedy, Jetpac’s executive director, and Nadeem Mazen, its president, founded the nonprofit in December 2015 in order to increase civic engagement and community service in Muslim communities. Kennedy, who’s from Norfolk…
Boston City Council Explores Mental Health Clinicians Accompanying Police Dispatches
On Tuesday, Feb. 14, the Boston City Council opened a hearing to discuss an increase in investments for mental health clinicians to work alongside the Boston Police Department. Led by Councillors Annissa Essaibi-George—who heads the Committee on Homelessness, Mental Health and Recovery—and Ayanna Pressley (who is part of the same committee), the issue was presented…