More than 450 people met in Quincy for the Mass. Meeting of the Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign on Friday, April 6. Savina Martin, a long time activist who is one of three co-chairs of the Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign, opened up the meeting, calling on people to raise their voices “to say enough is enough…
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…
Nonprofit Sector Needs to Recruit and Promote Leaders of Color, Report Finds
From left to right_ Michael James of Old Colony YMCA, Imari Paris Jeffries of Parenting Journey, Cassie Scarano of Commongood Careers (ceo and co-founder), Celina Miranda executive director of the Hyde Square Task Force and Jocelyn Sarg\Nonprofit leaders were asked to take an inward look at their sector to analyze why its leadership is not…
Mass. Bill Pushes Back Against Implementation of Video Only Prison Visits
Maintaining contact with family is important to the wellbeing of people who are incarcerated, and a bill in Massachusetts’ state legislature would ensure that in-person visits are protected. The visitation provision is part of a much larger criminal justice reform bill. According to Lucius Couloute, policy analyst with the Prison Policy Initiative, some sheriffs’ departments…
Domonique Williams Appointed Boston’s Deputy Director of the Office of Housing Stability’s
On Wednesday, April 4, Domonique Williams became Boston’s Office of Housing Stability’s new deputy director. Williams is a Roxbury resident and former housing attorney, and Mayor Marty Walsh — who announced Williams’ appointment through a press release — hopes that under her leadership, the city can expand its efforts to tackle a burgeoning housing crisis.…
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…
Mass. Advocates for Children: Fighting for the Rights of Young Students
Readers, imagine yourself waiting for the most opulent being in your life: your child. As the yellow bus approaches, you feel calm, ready to hear your child’s stories of the day. The bus stops, you see your child. As your little one runs to your arms, you ask the same question you have asked a…
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…
As ICE deports higher numbers of Asian immigrants, a Dorchester family is left without a mother
Robert Sparks with his and Nhan’s three children. Photo: Anna Bloxham Robert Sparks and his wife Nhan, a green card holder and native of Vietnam, left their Dorchester home to attend a meeting with ICE – Immigration and Customs Enforcement – at an office in Burlington, Massachusetts on October 2. This was one of several…