Tag: Homelessness
-
Can Weed Help Homeless People in Massachusetts?
The short answer: yes, possibly. Last month, Colorado’s third largest city announced that it will use a portion of its revenue generated from tax on recreational cannabis to support homeless people and local city nonprofits. Aurora, Colo., expects to bring in $4.5 million from marijuana sales, according to the Aurora Sentinel. The City Council has plans…
-
Understanding Homelessness: What It Is and Isn’t
Homelessness happens when people do not have safe and secure places to live. While this definition may sound quite simple, the causes of homelessness are often complicated and varied. For example, some causes include a house fire, economic strife, the loss of a job, a medical emergency, rising rents, a death in the family, addiction,…
-
Homeless Again?
Yes, you read that title right. I know, I can’t believe it either, but due to circumstances way beyond my pay grade, it’s a distinct possibility. Reasons? Well, let’s just say the system sucks like that, though my current living situation isn’t exactly ideal. I have a roof over my head, I’m safe, warm, dry…
-
The Frustration of Homelessness
On March 21, a group of homeless advocates and homeless and formerly homeless people visited Boston City Hall for a hearing with members of the Boston City Council to secure the mayor’s support for funding the Housing Voucher Program. The goal was to develop a program that would use city funds to house individuals and…
-
Newton Photographer Empowers the Homeless Population
All photos: Nick Cosky A photographer’s passion for capturing the beauty of Boston has developed into a passion for helping the city’s people in need. “Every location that my photography brought me I would see people who were homeless or in need,” said Nick Cosky of Newton, MA. Cosky described how his project began one…
-
Advocates push for city-funded housing voucher program
The Boston City Council held a public hearing to explore the possibility of a city-funded housing voucher program. The hearing comes in the wake of diminished federal funding for housing assistance, and housing advocates have actively proposed a model similar to D.C.’s program. Specifically, advocates are pushing for the city to spend $5 million of…
-
Boston Puts Tech to Use in Ending Homelessness
Green River, a Cambridge-based software company, will build the web application for Mayor Martin Walsh’s action plan to end chronic and veteran homelessness. The application will provide a way to match homeless people with housing opportunities and resources. Currently, every shelter in Boston has its own way of figuring out where the best place is…
-
Winter in Boston
I’m tired of winter in Boston this year because it seems like it’s a totally different season from the ones we endured when I was a child growing up in Avon, Massachusetts. Back when I was a kid, winter was fun, but now it’s lost it’s flavor. It’s no longer fun to build snowmen, snow…
-
A Cold Weather Message from C.O.P.E.
Photo: Sushant Bhosale This weekend’s weather forecast looks bleak, especially for those who call the streets their home. Expected windchill factors could be as low as -23 degrees. I’m feeling a sense of anxiety and urgency. Not for me, but for our friends who will not have a safe and warm place to go as…
-
Q&A with Michelle Wu
Photos: Alena Kuzub The waiting room outside the city council president’s office is full of visitors, staff and paperwork changing hands. Portraits line the walls, from paintings to black-and-white photos to more modern colorful pictures—the eyes of councilors past watching the goings-on in City Hall. It feels crowded, even claustrophobic, and Michelle Wu’s new office…