Category: News
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After the smoke has cleared: Following a weekend of displacement, Merrimack Valley families still await gas, reimbursement and a return to normalcy
The line outside the Lawrence Senior Center was dozens of people deep the Saturday after a series of gas leaks and fires displaced thousands of families in the Merrimack Valley. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez. Intro: Thursday night evacuation Around three in the afternoon on Thursday, Sept. 13, a detective at Yahaira Ramos’s home in the southern…
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Workers rally in the Seaport prior to talks with Marriott hotels
Hotel workers and members of UNITE HERE Local 26 marched through the Seaport on Friday, September 21 to rally against Marriott-owned hotels in the area. The march of 100 plus workers was a continuation of a march held on Labor Day, where union members announced they would force a strike vote if contract negotiations did…
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The Suboxone Withdrawal Diaries, Part 2
“Late last night and the night before, Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door. I want to go out, don’t know if I can, ‘cause I’m so afraid of the Tommyknocker (dealers) man.” — The Tommyknockers, by Stephen King; a book, that helped me get through this. August 21 This is day 8 of my…
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Massachusetts Housing Program is Finalist for $100,000 Prize
The Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance’s “Pay for Success” program is one of the top 10 finalists for the $100,000 Drucker Prize award. The Drucker Institute recognizes non-profit organizations at a national level. Peter Drucker helped create philosophical and practical base for contemporary business and established the institute that has awarded the prize over the…
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Can homelessness happen to anyone? Don’t believe the hype
Suzanne Fitzpatrick speaks to delegates at the 2018 INSP Global Street Paper Summit Credit: Jack Donaghy It’s a well-worn trope: we are all “two pay cheques away from becoming homeless”. The evidence to back up such claims is thin, says Suzanne Fitzpatrick, the keynote speaker on day three of the 2018 INSP Global Street Paper…
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UN Report a Blistering Indictment of Myanmar’s Crimes Against Rohingya
It is estimated that 700,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are housed in Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh. Credit: Mojibur Rahaman Rana/IPS At 12, Mohammed* is an orphan. He watched his parents being killed by Myanmar government soldiers a year ago. And he is one of an estimated half a million Rohingya children who have survived…
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Respect: Saying Goodbye to the Queen of Soul
Aretha Franklin (Courtesy of Atlantic Records) “All I’m askin’ for, is a little respect,” sings Aretha Franklin in what would become her signature tune. But by dint of her swaggering, sweltering, church-wrought performance, she’s not just asking for respect: she’s demanding it. And she got it, on an unparalleled level, winning 18 Grammys, a lifetime…
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Boston Area Prisoners Join National Hunger Strike
Prisoners throughout New England joined a national rolling hunger strike last week, protesting the United States government’s failure to reunite separated migrant families despite a court ordered July 26 deadline to do so. The hunger strike — formulated by members of Hungry4Justice — started on July 30 in Oakland, California, and has since spread to…
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Healthcare is a Human Right
By the time you read this, I will have had my second surgery to plant a fistula in my arm for my eventual dialysis treatment. But that is not what I want to talk about today. After all, I’m fine, and I’m reasonably healthy because I have been lucky. I have great healthcare, and I’m…
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Bookstore Employing Youth Opens Its Doors, Warehouse in the South End
A new South End bookstore has been open for less than a week, but already has had an impact on formerly homeless youth and high school dropouts looking for opportunities to better themselves while gaining job skills. The More Than Words (MTW) Liberty Bookstore on East Berkeley Street had its debut on Monday, September 10th.…