Tag: Long Island
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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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Two Years
By the time you read this, the second anniversary of the closing of Long Island Shelter will have come and gone without much fanfare. Yes, there was a rally by the Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee. A very well-done and well-attended one at that. We’ve even managed to arrange an upcoming meeting with the state’s secretary…
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Advocates rally to “take back Long Island” following news about b.good, tax money
The first big news item that inspired the rally was the revelation that fast food chain b.good will now manage a farm on the island that once benefited the homeless. The farm was originally part of the city-run Serving Ourselves job program for shelter and recovery clients. The farm also produced 50 percent of the…
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The Band Is Still Playing On: Part 1
Yes, I’m aware that my title for this column is a play on the words of the title to a book and movie about the AIDS crisis, “And the Band Played On.” That film was about how, as hundreds of people became infected with the deadly virus, our federal government pretty much sat on its…
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Criticism abounds as b.good revives Long Island farm
Several years ago, many homeless and addicted individuals called Long Island home. The Boston Harbor Island was filled to the brim with social service programs. A farm helped feed those staying at a large shelter. A summer camp offered programs for adolescents from Boston’s at-risk neighborhoods. Closed to the public, the city-owned island helped 1,000…
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A New Point in Time: A more positive narrative surrounds Walsh’s second homeless census as mayor
Last year, Marty Walsh’s first homeless census as the mayor came months after he closed Long Island, an incident that displaced hundreds of homeless folks and recovering addicts in Boston and led to tough criticism of how he handled the event. To recap, the main access route to the island, a rusty 64 year old…
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One Year Later: Rally remember the Long Island bridge closure
One year after the Long Island bridge’s sudden closure on October 8th 2014, the homeless, the recovering and their advocates spent a morning rallying to raise awareness and demand mores services from the city and the state. Long Island was home to the city’s largest shelter, detox center and a number of addiction recovery services.…
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LONG ISLAND: Closure and fallout timeline
Oct. 8: Long Island bridge closes after a private inspection. The city deems the bridge unsafe in the wake of new state requirements. Programs on the island—both health care workers and their clients—are given three hours notice. Buses on their way to the island’s shelter are turned around, bringing shelter guests to a new location.…
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ONE YEAR LATER: Boston Warm's successes, challenges, and future
Boston Warm was formed on November 20, 2014, a bit over a month after the Long Island bridge was closed. A group of interfaith leaders felt the city wasn’t handling the situation and decided to take action. Since then, the group has opened two warming centers, advocated for the reestablishment of treatment beds, produced a…
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GIVING BACK: Activist Cleve Rae starts Homeless Inclusion Initiative
Cleve Rea, an activist for the homeless community, is starting a new program to pair homeless individuals and families with concerned citizen mentors, he announced on Spare Change News TV on August 31. The program, dubbed the Boston Homeless Inclusion Initiative, will provide a support system and community for homeless individuals and families. A major…