Word: homelessness
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...comic-book movie, and in that sense it accomplishes its goals. It is action-packed. It involves copious explanations of weapon use. And it features a truly haunting sequence set at a vampire blood-bank that finally has the guts to honestly address America’s burgeoning homeless problem...
Meanwhile, the current situation is a catastrophe for the homeless themselves. In March 2004, a group of volunteers conducted the Cambridge Homeless census, (conservatively) counting just under 500 individuals in the city. The warmer months find roughly 1 in 3 homeless people sleeping unsheltered; in the winter, the number remains in the dozens. In the Boston area in 2000, 44 percent of homeless people were working paying jobs in a given month—many supporting children—while only 11 percent received Supplemental Security Income from the federal government...
Almost 4 in 10 of Boston’s homeless are plagued by mental health issues, and nearly the same number report problems with alcohol abuse. An appalling 92 percent of homeless women have experienced some form of physical and/or sexual assault at some point in their lives. The homeless community is wildly skewed in the direction of blacks and Hispanics. And while the incomes of homeless individuals remain stagnant at a fraction of the poverty level, Cambridge housing costs continue to skyrocket—the average one-bedroom apartment rents for an astounding...
...opinion columns, finger-pointing is de rigueur. So I sat down and scoured Cambridge records, trying to figure out who was responsible for this mess. The City of Cambridge? A 1999 City report on homelessness argued that “Cambridge offers a continuum of care through a coordinated-but-decentralized network of diverse programs and services operated by local government agencies, private non-profit organizations, churches, and homeless-led organizations.” And the City and its non-profit allies do seem to know a lot and care a lot about the local homeless community...
Maybe Harvard was to blame. Have we been giving homelessness in our city the attention it deserves? Speaking to Mary Power, Harvard’s Senior Director of Community Relations, I was inclined to believe that Harvard isn’t the villain either. From the well-oiled, entirely student-run Harvard Square Homeless Shelter to staff and faculty contributions to local homeless charities, the University is definitely not turning a blind eye to the homeless community. Especially noteworthy is the 20/20/2000 program, which appropriated $20 million in interest-free loans to Cambridge and Boston for affordable housing projects...