Author: James Shearer
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A Tale of Two Bostons
A couple of weeks ago I was among the many who participated in the Poor People’s Campaign’s “Spill the Tea Tour”, also known at the Truth & Poverty tour, in Boston. It was an educational tour meant to bring awareness to to the plight of poor and homeless people – an issue that is ignored…
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Hiding the Problem
Once again the Boston Marathon is upon us, and so is another tradition: pushing the homeless out of the marathon area. It happens every year. Homeless folks are sent packing while tourists, politicians, and runners travel back and forth around the area. Barriers are put up around the public library where the homeless sit, where…
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Shelters Shouldn’t Do the State’s job
When I read that Pine Street Inn was planning to create 140 units of housing by putting up a five to six story building in Jamaica Plain I nearly fell over, and not from joy. For years I’ve been a staunch believer that shelter agencies, including Pine Street Inn, should not double as landlords. Why?…
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When the media dehumanizes the homeless
A little over a week ago two separate stories about homelessness caught my attention. The first was an article in the Boston Herald in which the main focus seemed to be that homeless people were using MBTA as a place to escape from the cold. There’s nothing new about this. Homeless people have been using…
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And the distractions continue
As if I needed more evidence of what I wrote in my last column; the last few days have been a “you can’t make this stuff up” type of week. First up we have one Jussie Smollett, the Empire actor who said he was jumped, beaten, had a noose planted around his neck and doused…
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Trump’s not our only problem
Over the last few weeks I’ve wondered, sometimes out loud, are we too focused on Donald Trump? It certainly seems like it. Ever since he announced that he was running for President, we as a nation have been obsessed with Trump. The media helped a lot with that, and they still do by making him…
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As MBTA fares increase, so do state house salaries
As news broke this week about the MBTA proposing another fare hike, I found myself thinking about the salary increase over at the State House. Yes, folks, in a move that has went largely ignored by local media and a few others, the State Legislators have once again voted to give themselves pay raises. Gov.…
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His Name Was Joshua
After I attended the Homeless Memorial Service I came across a story that made me shake my head. A man, Clifton Moore, had been indicted for the murder of a homeless man named Joshua Rivera, age 54, in Charlestown. The crime was committed on Sept. 6 and according to the published details it was brutal.…
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Remember the Forgotten Before it’s Too Late
As this issue hits the streets many of us will be attending the Homeless Memorial Service in Boston — Dec. 21 will mark the solemn service’s 29th year. There will be other services throughout the country over the next few days. We are once again confronted with the fact that people are dying in the…
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We Need More Than Words to Fix Boston’s Problems
Last week I went to a Boston City Council meeting where Annissa Essaibi-George presented a resolution to double-down on the council’s efforts to address hunger and homelessness. It’s a nice gesture, and I believe the councilor’s heart is in the right place. Some may see it, though, as a photo-op. Others may be even more…