Author: Robert Sondak
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Bunker Hill Community College receives grant to increase Latino enrollment
Bunker Hill Community College and the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education are teaming up to provide better access to college for Latino students. Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) received a $200,000 Vision Project Performance Incentive Fund grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education on Dec. 3. The grant is designed to help BHCC increase…
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HUD reports decrease in Mass. homeless population
Homelessness in Massachusetts fell 0.5 percent in 2015, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said. HUD released its 2015 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress on November 19, HUD said in a press release. The report found that 21,135 people experienced homelessness across Massachusetts in 2015, of which 97.2 percent were staying in residential…
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VENDOR VOICES: When I was homeless
For me, the 1980s was a time of creativity, a lot of stress and homelessness. I left Boston after six years and went on to complete my associates’ degree at a suburban Long Island college. Once I got back to New York, I registered with a temporary employment agency and worked in my first full-time…
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Y2Y SHELTER: Youth shelter coming to Harvard Square
Y2Y Harvard Square recently unveiled plans to open the nation’s first student-run shelter for young adults aged 18 to 24 at 3 Church Street. This new overnight youth shelter is scheduled to open on November 1 at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church. The shelter will house 20 youths per night, seven nights a week,…
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WARM INTENTIONS: BostonWarm @ Old South Church
This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a new co-ed day shelter called BostonWarm opened in Copley Square at Old South Church. Located three doors down from the historic church’s main entrance on Dartmouth and Beacon streets, the day center is located in the church’s lower level club room. It’s a warm, safe haven for homeless…
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ALL THAT JAZZ: Wally’s Cafe
I boarded the MBTA No. 1 bus and got off at the intersection of Massachusetts and Columbus Avenue before heading up the block to Wally ‘s Jazz Club in Boston’s South End. Wally’s Cafe, the first African-American nightclub in New England, was founded in 1947 by Joseph L. Walcott, originally from Barbados, and his brother.…
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Cambridge Weekend Backpack Program Tackles Problem of Childhood Hunger
CAMBRIDGE, Mass—Alanna Mallon spends her Friday mornings sorting food into neat piles and packaging it up. She’s part of the Cambridge Weekend Backpack Program (CWBP) — a volunteer-run food distribution program that provides food backpacks for food-insecure children to take home over weekends and school holidays. Volunteers at each school package the food under the…
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Ride for Food Takes on Growing Problem of Food Insecurity in Boston Area
DEDHAM, Mass.—Starting at 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, September 21, the first of three teams in the Ride For Food will begin their trek. The Ride for Food is a cycling fundraiser to fight hunger. It is sponsored by Three Squares New England (TSNE), a Dedham-based nonprofit. These bicyclists will ride one of three courses starting…
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Crimson Care Collaborative
By Robert Sondak BOSTON, Mass.—Every Tuesday evening Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) nursing students form the bulk of the medical team at Crimson Care Collaborative (CCC)—a joint student-faculty clinical program that provide primary care to Boston’s underserved communities. As the students get hands on training, supervised by attending physicians from Massachusetts…
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‘Get Connected’ Brings Computers to Those in Need
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Every Wednesday afternoon from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., volunteers gather in the basement of Old Cambridge Baptist Church in Harvard Square to build computers for those in need. They are part of Get Connected – a volunteer-run computer clinic provided by the nonprofit Solutions At Work in partnership with Computer Care and Learning,…