Tag: Homelessness

  • Spare Change News

    On Thanksgiving 2021, dozens of people gathered near the intersection of Baoston’s “Mass and Cass” in the area often referred to as “Methadone Mile.”  They carried with them 230 bags packed with socks, gloves, and other supplies to be distributed to the area’s unhoused people — on the street, local shelters, and the New England…

  • HOW DID WE GET HERE?

    HOW DID WE GET HERE?

    Last month, I read with  huge disappointment that the  Massachusetts Attorney General  Maura Healy seemed to be all  in on Suffolk County Sheriff  Steve Tompkin’s inhumane  proposal (in this writer’s  opinion) to put those who are  dealing with substance abuse  and homelessness into an empty  detention facility.  I call it inhumane because  the plan was…

  • ‘Friends’ Star Inspired to Action by Friend’s Homelessness

    ‘Friends’ Star Inspired to Action by Friend’s Homelessness

    David Schwimmer, former star of “Friends,” turned his artistic talent to telling stories that highlight the struggle of homeless people after discovering that his friend had been living on Skid Row, hiding his homelessness even from those who knew him best. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons “I had a friend who was homeless for two…

  • A Christmas dinner at the YMCA, as homelessness rises in Mass.

    A Christmas dinner at the YMCA, as homelessness rises in Mass.

    The staff of the Boston Business Journal helped serve food. Photo by author. It’s Christmas time at the Huntington Avenue YMCA, which hosted its annual dinner on Thursday night for its housing program guests. Twelve round tables were spread throughout the dining room, sitting at them were parents with small kids and some older folks—a…

  • Massachusetts has highest increase in homeless population in the country

    The homeless population of Massachusetts has increased by 14 percent in the last year, according to a recent report from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the report, there are 20,068 homeless persons in the Commonwealth this year, up from 17,565 in 2017. This was the highest increase in the country…

  • Parting Ways at the Crossroads

    Parting Ways at the Crossroads

    There has been a sadness around me lately. As many of you know, we lost a family member, our long time vendor Fred Boykin. And as I sit here writing this column I’m thinking of his positive spirit despite all the obstacles in his way. I wish I could be more like he was, now…

  • Stray to Tent A Forever Home: A Book Review

    Stray to Tent A Forever Home: A Book Review

    Stray to Tent A Forever Home http://www.straytotentaforeverhome.com What a glory! This book by Gary Clark is beautifully illustrated to raise children’s awareness about homelessness in a positive, loving way. It says that it is for children from the ages of 5 to 8 but really, this is a book for everybody. Really, I found the…

  • Can homelessness happen to anyone? Don’t believe the hype

    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…

  • Healthcare is a Human Right

    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…

  • Boston Women’s Shelter finishes renovations

    Boston Women’s Shelter finishes renovations

    Alisha Bernard began singing when she was very young, found success performing throughout New England and had an opportunity to sign a record deal. But even as her voice soared, she struggled with personal challenges; depression and drug use. Ultimately, that professional opportunity was lost. She found herself as a guest at Woods-Mullen, an emergency…