Author: Abby DeRigo
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LONG ISLAND: Closure and fallout timeline
Oct. 8: Long Island bridge closes after a private inspection. The city deems the bridge unsafe in the wake of new state requirements. Programs on the island—both health care workers and their clients—are given three hours notice. Buses on their way to the island’s shelter are turned around, bringing shelter guests to a new location.…
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ONE YEAR LATER: Boston Warm's successes, challenges, and future
Boston Warm was formed on November 20, 2014, a bit over a month after the Long Island bridge was closed. A group of interfaith leaders felt the city wasn’t handling the situation and decided to take action. Since then, the group has opened two warming centers, advocated for the reestablishment of treatment beds, produced a…
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ONLINE: Cambridge gets creative with "charrette" on homelessness
The City of Cambridge Department of Human Service Programs will host a public conversation about homelessness, bringing together the local community and experts to discuss problems and work toward solutions. Coordinating with Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), the Charrette on Homelessness will take place from September 15 to 18, featuring six two-hour discussions and a…
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STREET DOCTOR: Q&A with author Dr. James O'Connell
Dr. James O’Connell has been a doctor on the streets of Boston for 30 years, providing healthcare to Boston’s unsheltered population. A founding physician of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, he got his start in 1985 and now serves as the BHCHP’s president. Dr. O’Connell has recently released his book, Stories from…
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BID ADIEU: Boston 2024 loses, vulnerable communities win
Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games is dead, which is a huge relief for the homeless, low-income communities and people of color. Opponents of the bid argued that these populations were most in danger of displacement and harassment should the Summer Olympics have come to town. While the Atlanta 1996 Olympics are often…
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AIRPORT REFORM: Workers at Logan demand union rights, fair conditions
As of June 17, over 100 airport workers are on strike protesting the working conditions of two of Logan Airport’s biggest contractors, G2 Secure Staff and ReadyJet. Protesters began picketing at East Boston Memorial Park as early as early as 5 a.m., holding a press conference at 7:30 a.m., just steps away from the Logan…
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MOVING TARGET: Monica James on police targeting
The police are targeting vulnerable communities, says Monica James. They’re targeting black people. Hispanics. Muslims. Immigrants. Women. Youth. The transgender community, all “people of difference.” It’s not really news to the audience at Roxbury’s Madison Park High School. After all, the panel is called “Baltimore is Everywhere,” and the speakers include victims of police violence…
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Boston plans to end chronic individual homelessness by 2018
When the Long Island bridge closed—cutting off access to the city’s largest shelter and many residential treatment programs, some saw the crisis as an opportunity to reform a system that wasn’t working. After all, the only thing more outdated than that 64-year-old rusty bridge was the idea that just sheltering people alone was the best…
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OLYMPIC DISPLACEMENT: Boston 2024 opponents discuss the games' history of displacement
If history does in fact repeat itself, Boston’s herculean efforts to host the Olympics in 2024 will result in pushing out the city’s “undesirables,” including a “not in our backyard” attitude toward the growing homeless population. Opponents of Boston’s Olympics bid hosted a panel to discuss the games’ history of displacement and whether Boston could…