Boston, and Massachusetts overall, have been outpacing the country on low unemployment numbers and providing housing for the poor, but a new report suggests that this growth is largely limited to the wealthy, and that upward mobility is on the decline. A new poverty report from the Boston Foundation’s research center titled “Boston’s Booming…But for…
Parting Ways at the Crossroads
There has been a sadness around me lately. As many of you know, we lost a family member, our long time vendor Fred Boykin. And as I sit here writing this column I’m thinking of his positive spirit despite all the obstacles in his way. I wish I could be more like he was, now…
Protests against Kavanaugh bookend the week in Boston
The week leading up to Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States started and ended with rallies protesting his appointment. On Monday, Oct. 1, hundreds of people gathered on City Hall Plaza next to a Forbes 30 Under 30 event where Senator Jeff Flake was scheduled to speak. Flake had called…
At Rosie’s Place, a legal program helps vulnerable women navigate immigration, debt and everything in between
For over 40 years in Boston’s South End neighborhood, Rosie’s Place has opened its doors to homeless and impoverished women seeking assistance and safety. The bustling lobby rarely — if ever — slows down. A little past the front desk, the office of the legal assistance program has become increasingly in-demand and growing to meet…
Boston Housing Authority employee slights the city in letter to residents
Recently, someone mentioned that perhaps the Boston Housing Authority needs a consumer advocacy group made up of tenants and other partner agencies. This group could advise BHA on problems such as it’s ponderous orientation program and interview process. But after a recent and undoubtedly colossal mistake by the agency, maybe it’s time to just start…
With thousands more projected to live in Boston by 2030, city plans to add affordable housing changes
Census data from 2016 has Boston rethinking its housing goals for 2030, which is projected to see 59,000 more residents than anticipated. City officials released a revised version of their Imagine Boston 2030 plan that includes building an additional 16,000 units by 2030, upping the 2030 projected population of people in Boston from 709,000 by…
Workers rally in the Seaport prior to talks with Marriott hotels
Hotel workers and members of UNITE HERE Local 26 marched through the Seaport on Friday, September 21 to rally against Marriott-owned hotels in the area. The march of 100 plus workers was a continuation of a march held on Labor Day, where union members announced they would force a strike vote if contract negotiations did…
Immigration Court Ordered to Review Denied Asylum Petition
A federal appeals court in Boston has ordered a review of a Bureau of Immigration Appeals ruling that denied a rehearing to a man seeking asylum. Indra Sihotang is one of hundreds who have fled anti-Christian oppression in Indonesia. He has been allowed to stay in the U.S. for well over a decade, but last…
Not Buying It: Boston Claims Chronic Homelessness is Down 20 Percent
A couple of weeks ago the City of Boston had a round table conversation with the press to let us all know that due to their efforts chronic homelessness in the city has been reduced by 20 percent since 2016. If yours truly had been present at this conversation, those government employees would have gotten…
Boston Activists Rally to Show Solidarity With Nationwide Prison Strike
About 150 people rallied outside of Suffolk County Jail Thursday, Aug. 23 to stand in solidarity with a nationwide prison strike which kicked off earlier in the week. As police stood on the jailhouse steps, batons at the ready, protesters chanted, sang, and donned signs. The prison reformists and abolitionists called for the Massachusetts Department…