Tag: Boston
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Residents Rally Against Federal Cuts, Call for Affordable Homes
Hundreds of residents from across Massachusetts gathered in front of Faneuil Hall on Monday, July 31 to take a stand against President Trump’s proposed cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and to make a plea to Congress to increase funding for affordable homes. The Trump Administration is looking to cut the…
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National Circus Distracts From ‘Trump-like’ cuts in Mass.
In recent weeks, many activists have focused on Donald Trump’s shenanigans. He really can’t help himself, can he? Other activists have been glued to their TV sets, computers and phones closely following the health care debate, as they should. However, while we’re distracted by the antics going on in D.C., things are going on in…
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Labor Pains and Growth in Recovery
Spare Change News is proud to present the second installment of its new monthly feature, “In Their Own Words,” which highlights the work of writers who meet at Rosie’s Place. In late 2014, Rosie’s Place, a community center for Boston’s poor and homeless women, started a memoir workshop. The intention was to have the guests,…
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Senior Housing in Brighton to Add Units for Disabled, Chronically Homeless
Seniors looking to live in Brighton this fall may be in luck now that the Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly (JCHE) campus is close to having 61 more units of affordable housing. The units are being built at 132 Chestnut Hill Ave., which is down the road from 30 Wallingford Road where JCHE residents…
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To thine own self be true: Slaine talks big pharma, music and recovery
Slaine Carroll beat addiction and is now making a name for himself in the Boston music scene. Courtesy photo Slaine Carroll is as embedded in hip-hop as hip-hop is embedded in him. Writing his first rhyme at the age of nine after hearing the Beastie Boys’ “License To Ill,” the Boston native knew he wanted…
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Homelessness advocates gather at State House for Legislative Action Day
A woman identified only as Lynetta tells the assembled advocates and service providers about her experience with homelessness, after being evicted by an unscrupulous landlord. Photo by Alejandro Ramirez One day, Lynetta and her family were evicted from their home. She says her landlord retroactively increased her rent, which is illegal, and painted her as…
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Schools Programs Keep Hunger and Homelessness From Derailing Local Students
Bunker Hill Community College student Michael Curran knows what it’s like to be homeless and struggling in school. Curran, 28, of Medford, is among the many students who rely on the college’s Single Stop program for food and other resources to get by in life and in school. When asked how often he comes to…
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OUT ON HER OWN: A Story of LGBTQ Youth Homelessness
Photo by Mike DeSocio. Author’s Note: The central character in this story, Liniște, asked that she be referred to by a pseudonym for safety reasons. I met Liniște in September and spent five months following her throughout various parts of her life, closely observing her experiences with homelessness and sexuality. This approach seemed most appropriate…
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Plan JP/Rox passes after tense meeting and two day sit-in
All photos: Alejandro Ramirez After a public meeting full of disruption from affordable housing advocates and a nearly 48 hour sit-in at the mayor’s waiting room, the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) passed the contested Plan JP/Rox development plan. Advocates, mostly from Jamaica Plain’s Keep It 100% for Egleston, packed the hearing on Thursday…
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Point in time count 2017
At last year’s point in time count—the city’s annual homeless census where groups of volunteers physically count the homeless folks they see in the streets—Mayor Marty Walsh had recently announced the City of Boston functionally ended veteran homelessness. This year, to a crowd of 400 volunteers, he announced that two-and-a-half years of housing first initiatives…