Category: Homelessness & Poverty
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Wendy Oxenhorn on co-founding Street News and her life helping those living in homelessness and poverty
By Adam Kampe and Eric Falquero Courtesy of INSP.ngo / Street Sense In 1989, Wendy Oxenhorn was approached by a rock musician to find a way to help people experiencing homelessness in New York City. Hutchinson Persons wanted to organize a large concert that would function as a canned food drive. He had heard of…
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Roslindale panhandler memorialized, family fundraising for funeral
A photo and kinds words left by a stranger has grown into a noticeable memorial on the gate surrounding the Granary Burial Ground on Tremont Street. The memorial is in honor of George B. Dagraca, a 43-year-old panhandler and heroin addict who died from heart complications on August 4. George, who is survived by three…
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Pay For Success paves the way for over 250 individuals in first year
The Massachusetts Alliance for Supportive Housing got 250 chronically homeless individuals off the streets and into housing this past year as they implemented the nation’s first Pay for Success program, the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance announced in a press release. Pay for Success, which aims to cut chronic homelessness in Massachusetts by 50 percent…
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Housing Families to distribute backpacks to once-homeless children
Now that the start of the school year is approaching, Malden-based agency Housing Families will be distributing approximately 350 backpacks equipped with school supplies to once-homeless children. The backpacks were acquired through Housing Families’ annual backpack drive, which ran from May to early August, and from various donations throughout the year. Founded in 1986 to…
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Copley Square church displays memorial quilt for homeless dead
In late January of this year, a homeless man covered in a sheet and blanket was found dead on the steps of Copley Square’s Old South Church. Members of the church, which prides itself on its strong ties to the homeless community, were hit hard by the news and decided to turn his tragedy into…
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Silence
The party conventions are over and the candidates have been chosen (not the greatest of choices) and we now move on to the campaigns, the debates, the name calling and those annoying TV ads for the next three-and-a-half months. But wait: hear that silence, boys and girls? Crickets chirping? That, my friends, is the sound…
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Boston’s Way Home fights to end chronic homelessness in Boston by 2018
Photo: Zengzheng Wang Wang Boston has one of the lowest urban street homelessness rates in the country, thanks to its strong web of homeless shelters and other resources. In fact, the total number of homeless individuals in Boston has declined by 14.5 percent since 2007. However, the city isn’t stopping there. Boston’s plan to end veteran…
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Santa Clara’s “Triage Tool” Pinpoints the Most Vulnerable on the Streets
Providing proper supportive housing to homeless individuals can be the difference between life and death. But when the number of homeless people overwhelms the current housing supply, how can officials prioritize the neediest to receive shelter? The answer may come in the form of the Silicon Valley Triage Tool. Revealed in February 2016, the Triage…
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“Ending Homelessness”: Panel of experts discuss new book that details problems and solutions
Photo: Gavia Strategies Timed to coincide with the release of a new book on solutions to homelessness, a panel of the book’s authors and its editor discussed prevalent issues facing the homeless community. Titled “Ending Homelessness: Why We Haven’t, How We Can,” the book features chapters on housing first, employing empowerment models and the changing…
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Criticism abounds as b.good revives Long Island farm
Several years ago, many homeless and addicted individuals called Long Island home. The Boston Harbor Island was filled to the brim with social service programs. A farm helped feed those staying at a large shelter. A summer camp offered programs for adolescents from Boston’s at-risk neighborhoods. Closed to the public, the city-owned island helped 1,000…