Category: Local
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Some advocates see holes in HUD data, argue that homelessness may not be on the decline
The narrative that homelessness is on the decline nationally and in Massachusetts is something that local homeless advocates find hard to believe. Recently released reports from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) say that there are less homeless families, veterans and disabled persons on the street this year than in previous years, yet…
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City of boston receives $50,000 grant for Substance Abuse Disorder Assessment
The City of Boston was selected to receive a $50,000 Special Initiatives Grant to take steps towards developing a citywide strategy for prevention of Substance Use Disorders , Mayor Marty Walsh’s office said in a press release November 28. The grant funding with be used to develop a comprehensive needs assessment to help develop the…
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Chris Faraone on Journalism in the Trump Era
When local alternative journalist Chris Faraone sparred with Andrew Breitbart—founder of Breitbart News, the ultra-conservative site that has promulgated racist, sexist and antisemitic content—in 2012, only one came out alive. Shortly after Faraone and Breitbart clashed on WRKO, Breitbart died. Faraone likes to claim credit for Breitbart’s early death—his book is entitled “I Killed Breitbart.”…
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Vice Mayor Marc McGovern talks to SCN about the city’s efforts to help the victims of last weeks 10-alarm fire in Cambridge
(Photo: Brett Boston) Days after the devastating fire that destroyed several houses along Berkshire Street in Cambridge and displaced almost 150 people, the city’s vice mayor Marc McGovern talked to Spare Change News about what he and his colleagues were doing to help those in need. Q: How are you guys helping people who lost…
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Hundreds protest Trump advisors’ invitation to Harvard Kennedy School
On Wednesday night, hundreds of demonstrators rallied in front of the Harvard Kennedy School to protest the school’s decision to invite President-elect Donald Trump’s advisors to a local conference. A day before the rally, Stephen Bannon, Trump’s chief White House strategist and former chief executive of Breitbart News, canceled his appearance, which was scheduled for…
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New Van Outreach Program Gives Homeless Folks Better Resources
Two men in one van led by Richard Matos-Haile of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) drive along the Mystic Valley region looking for people who need help. “They are out in the van,” Matos-Haile, housing resource coordinator and supervisor for the new Mobile Homeless Outreach Team, said. “We go from city to city. We…
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Does Massachusetts Need a Homelessness Czar? State Representatives Chime in on the Matter
A recent article in the Boston Herald reported that a number of Massachusetts state representatives are calling upon government officials to appoint a homelessness czar in response to the high numbers of homeless youth in the state’s urban areas. At the start of 2016, The Boston Public Health Commission reported findings of 500 homeless families,…
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Homelessness in Massachusetts declines in 2016 HUD report finds
The number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in Massachusetts declined by 7.2 percent in 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a press release. HUD released it’s annual 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress November 17. The report was based on the annual homeless census count that was…
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Harvard Receives Grant to Study Racial and Economic Inequality, Influence Public Policy
Harvard University professor William Julius Wilson will be spearheading a new study conducted by the Hutchins Center for African and African American Studies. As recent news suggests, racial and economic inequality continues to be a poignant reality in America today. In response, the Hutchins Center’s study will send students onto the streets of Boston to…
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Food For Free in Cambridge Provides Farm-to-Table Produce for Boston-Based Homeless Shelter Pine Street Inn
As winter approaches, one Cambridge nonprofit has taken advantage of this year’s growing season to help combat hunger and homelessness. This year, Food For Free dedicated all the vegetables it grew on a quarter acre of farmland in Lincoln, Massachusetts, to just one of the 125 groups it partners with in Greater Boston: Pine Street…