When your application for state housing assistance is accepted, the wait list can stretch to up to seven years long. If you need Section 8 assistance for your young family, I hope you’re ready for a decade-plus wait. Hundreds of individual applications for housing can be filled out with nary a positive response. That is…
Mobile Homeless Outreach Team Gets Last Minute Reprieve From Funding Loss
Update: On Wednesday, Action Boston for Community Development (ABCD) announced their outreach van program has been extended to the end of April thanks to additional funding from the City of Malden. However, ABCD is still concerned the program will shut down after April 30th if they can’t secure ongoing funding. Original story On an unusually…
Recovery is Real: Florette Willis and the future of Mental Health Advocacy
On February 2, the mental health advocacy coalition Bringing Back Boston held a ceremony to honor Florette Willis at the Museum of Science. Willis serves as the first Director of Diversity and Inclusivity for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Massachusetts. Willis’ goal is to to expand the accessibility of mental health services in…
Mass. Housing and Shelter Alliance Selected as Finalist for Hearst Health Prize
The Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA) is one of three finalists for the 2018 Hearst Health Prize in Population Management. The Hearst Health Prize, distributed by Hearst in partnership with Jefferson College of Population Health, is a program that recognizes individuals for significantly improving health in the U.S. According to the Jefferson College of…
Trump’s Record on LGBT Rights: Abhorrent, Unprecedented
After his first year in office, President Donald Trump’s record on LGBT rights and protections fairs far worse than his predecessors, a new report finds. The report from The Fenway Institute, an education, research, training and policy center in Boston focused on access to health for traditionally underserved communities, states that the Trump administration “has…
Over one thousand volunteers show up for second annual Winter Walk for the homeless
The Second Annual Winter Walk began at nine in the morning in The Copley Square Plaza on Sunday, Feb. 11. Founded by Kayak co-founder and CEO of Lola Travel, Paul English. A total of $100,000 was raised last year at the very first Winter Walk, a two mile excursion that begins and ends in Copley.…
New $600 Million Development Breaks Ground in Fenway, Raises Gentrification Concerns
On Jan. 30, Fenway Center hosted a groundbreaking for a $600 million development project, which will include five new buildings, 550 residential units, and office and retail space, has been long-anticipated. The event was attended by Governor Charlie Baker, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, Boston Planning and Development Agency Director Brian Golden, and developer John Rosenthal.…
Badly Needed T Renovations Bogged Down by Backlog
If the MBTA, Greater Boston’s public transit system, shut down for a year, the state would lose $11.4 billion. That amount would come from residents’ time lost travelling, their effort spent maintaining a car, and a rise in the number of injuries and fatalities. Yet the Massachusetts state budget only devoted $2.4 billion to transportation…
Walsh Explores Mass Litigation Against Pharmaceutical Companies for Role in Opioid Crisis
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Monday, Jan. 22 that his office is considering mass tort litigation against several pharmaceutical companies for their role in the ongoing opioid crisis affecting the city and the United States as a whole. The potential move follows the lead of other Massachusetts municipalities — such as Quincy and Greenfield —…
Cold Weather, Colder Reality
Quincy COPE has been serving food and love at South Station for years with little or no complaints, that is until now. Apparently one of the Station’s security guards probably with nothing better to do approached Suzanne Featherstone (who is seen by many as the leader of the Quincy contingent) and the other volunteers and…