Category: Local
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Emmanuel Gospel Center Raises funds for organizations in the South End
Volunteers and Boston residents gathered in Blackstone Square on Saturday, October 15, to raise awareness and money for programs that serve the homeless population in the South End. Starlight Ministries, a program of Emmanuel Gospel Center on San Juan Street, has been raising $20,000 through its annual Starlight 5K Walkathon for six years for programs…
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Homeless Rights Advocates Mistrustful of BRA Rebranding
On Wednesday, housing and homeless rights advocates wrote an open letter to the City Council and people of Boston reprimanding Mayor Walsh’s handling of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). The letter coincided with Walsh’s announcement of the rebranding of the BRA, renaming it the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA). Boston activist Mel King was…
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City Offers Update on Homeless and Recovery Services
When Boston closed down the Long Island health campus in 2014, it lost over 400 shelter beds and over 200 recovery beds. Two years later, the city has restored over 600 beds, rivaling 2014’s numbers. The city revealed the numbers at a press roundtable in early October to highlight the early success of their Boston’s…
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People support sheltering women, starting with a spaghetti dinner
All photos: Matt Grazier Hundreds of people ate spaghetti this past Friday night at the 2016 Spaghetti Dinner at the Fairmount Copley Plaza. It was a fundraiser event hosted by the Women’s Lunch Place, a nonprofit that give women refuge from the streets by providing shelter and food, among many other things. “Guests of WLP…
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2nd Annual James W. Foley Freedom Run Takes Off in Commemoration of Slain NH Journalist
At 10am on Saturday, October 15th, runners, walkers, and joggers took their marks at the starting line of the the second annual James W. Foley Freedom Run. The event, which took place at the Rochester Fairgrounds in Rochester, N.H., was organized by the James Foley Legacy Foundation in commemoration of NH journalist Jim Foley, who…
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Mayor Walsh Makes $14 Million Available for Affordable Housing
Mayor Marty Walsh made $14 million available for affordable housing projects on Sept. 15, the mayor’s office said in a press release. The funding will be available through the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development via two $7 million competitive Requests for Proposals, the mayor’s office said. Walsh aims to create 6,500 units of affordable housing…
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New supplemental budget offers up to $4,000 to help individuals, families avoid homelessness
The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to pass a supplemental budget for fiscal year two thousand and sixteen that includes stipulations to provide funding for eligible candidates to avoid homelessness. The supplementary budget passed two weeks ago states that as of October 1, 2016, qualified individuals and families can receive up to $4,000 from Residential…
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Designer Bargains Support the New England AIDS Community
Photos: Jennifer Ortakales When two boisterous, tattooed managers gleefully welcome you into their South End thrift store offering wine and singing along to the Beach Boys and Elvis, you’ll want to stay a while. The eccentric duo is the personality behind Boomerangs Special Edition, a high-end version of the non-profit stores selling previously owned clothing…
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Harvard Food Workers Strike, Ongoing
Photo: Jessica Colarossi For the first time in more than 30 years, Harvard food service employees are on strike. Protests began early morning Wednesday, October 5, with hundreds of workers and student gathering around dining halls and marching, drumming and chanting along Massachusetts Avenue. “Shame on you! Shame on you!” a group of protesters were…
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Michael Patrick MacDonald: Families of All Souls “Are all Dealing with Heroin”
(Photo: Bill Brett) When Michael Patrick MacDonald walks down ‘methadone mile’ he sees a familiar story among the addicts and panhandlers. “Most people down there come from places like I come from,” MacDonald said. Places of “poverty” and “trauma.” MacDonald grew up in the Old Colony housing projects during the height of the cocaine epidemic…