Category: Recent News

By James H. Burnett III The South Middlesex Opportunity Council, a regional social service agency headquartered in Framingham, has decided to close a day center that has provided services for the homeless downtown since the fall of 2013. The center was launched as a pilot program conceived by the nonprofit organization, town officials, the localContinue reading The Boston Globe: Framingham day center for homeless to close →

By Danielle Ameden FRAMINGHAM – With the downtown day shelter closing, the town and South Middlesex Opportunity Council are vowing to continue working together on ways to end homelessness. Town Manager Bob Halpin, Police Chief Ken Ferguson and SMOC leaders Jim Cuddy and Jerry Desilets said Thursday they’re working on the problem as a team.Continue reading The MetroWest Daily News: Framingham town and org collaborate on services for homeless →

By Danielle Ameden FRAMINGHAM – The South Middlesex Opportunity Council plans to close a downtown day shelter that hasn’t worked to get homeless people off the streets and out of trouble. SMOC spokeswoman Jane Lane confirmed Wednesday the drop-in center in the former Salvation Army thrift shop space will close in the spring. The socialContinue reading The MetroWest Daily News: Framingham: SMOC to close day shelter →

By Hunter Styles Four days ago, Tomás Astacio slept outside for the first time. He found a locked, empty building on Winter Street in Springfield and climbed up to the second floor, where he spent the night on a balcony. The temperature dropped below freezing that night — 22 degrees with wind chill — butContinue reading Valley Advocate: Stories From the Storm: Freshly homeless and longtime street people find shelter in Springfield →

By Jack Encarnacao & Richard Weir Boston health officials and police promise a united front to nudge the homeless into safe quarters through the blizzard, while staff at Hub shelters slept at work overnight on cots to ensure enough warm meals and accommodations were prepared to handle the influx. Boston Public Health Commissioner Huy Nguyen saidContinue reading Boston Herald: Boston health officials to aid homeless →

By Jacqueline Tempera As a collection of travelers waited for the last trains to depart South Station, a small group of homeless people began setting up blankets, planning to stay through the storm. Transit Police inside the train station said shuttles were available to transport people to the Pine Street Inn on Harrison Avenue. ButContinue reading Boston Globe: South Station provides a port in the storm →

By Andrew Ryan Advocates worked feverishly to take homeless people off Boston’s streets Monday ahead of a ferocious winter storm, even as the city continued to struggle with a shortage of emergency beds after last fall’s abrupt shuttering of the largest city-run shelter. Outreach workers in vans have been working around the clock to persuadeContinue reading Boston Globe: Advocates seek shelter for the homeless ahead of ferocious storm →

By The Republican Editorials The map says Springfield and Northampton are fewer than 20 miles apart, but the reality places them in much different worlds. Springfield brings all the potential associated with modern urban America, but also the challenges. Northampton has its problems as well, but it remains a tonier reflection of the college atmosphereContinue reading MassLive: Springfield deserves fair shake on homelessness: Editorial →

By Cliff Clark FITCHBURG — An emergency fund designed to prevent exposure deaths in the Twin Cities homeless population was implemented over the weekend and is expected to be in place at least through Wednesday. “We’ve gotten a dozen or so off the streets over the weekend,” said Kevin MacLean, who serves as the directorContinue reading Sentinel and Enterprise: Fitchburg shelter getting homeless off streets before storm →

By Rich Fahey The Wareham Area Clergy Association and three community churches are, for the seventh-straight year, providing shelter for local homeless through their Nights of Hospitality program. “It was a case where we saw a need and tried to fill it,” said the Rev. David Shaw, pastor of the Emmanuel Church of the Nazarene.Continue reading Boston Globe: Wareham clergy and 3 churches providing shelter to local homeless →