Researchers are finding is that youth in this age bracket who in the 1960’s would have been in a long term relationship, finished with school and either in a full-time job or  full-time parenthood by their early 20s, are no longer engaging in those activities. Furthermore, when asked if they feel like adults, 20-somethings respond that they feel independent in some ways but not entirely, and an overwhelming 80 percent of parents do not consider their children between the ages of 18-26 to be adults. So what does this mean for the field of youth development? ...  read more »

Tuesday night (December 18th), nineteen United Way volunteers joined hundreds who conducted the 28th annual city-wide census of our neighbors who are homeless. I was a team leader for the census, and these are some of my experiences and thoughts...  read more »

The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently released their annual "Hunger and Homelessness Survey" that outlines responses from 23 cities across the country regarding the level of hunger and homelessness experienced by their citizens. Find out how Boston is responding...  read more »

Years ago, as a college student (go Eagles!), with more debt than I could easily fathom, philanthropy did not often cross my mind. This morning, a Boston Globe article by Sacha Pfeiffer made me realize I was wrong. Here's why...  read more »

With all the holiday toy drives, coat collections, and food drives,
it's easy for us to figure out how we can do something very simple to
help homeless and other low-income families. In an immediate way, we
can see that our donations of winter coats and stuffed animals can make
a difference for families who don't have the extra resources we all
need at this time of year. It makes us feel good, and it really does
mean something to those receiving the gifts. After reading an article
by Victoria Cheng in the Boston Globe last Sunday however, I was moved
to help keep people focused on the long-term goal - ending homelessness...  read more »