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May

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Elizabeth Curtis
Elizabeth Curtis
Tue, 05/27/2008

Nowhere Else to Go

Solutions have been presented, but until Housing First is implemented families are stuck
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In last Saturday's Globe Jonathan Scott, a partner of United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, wrote a compelling letter in reaction to the town of Yarmouth's policies to shut down motels that house guests for more than 30 days. Jonathan writes of the reality that many homeless families have had to resort to renting rooms in motels due to a lack of affordable alternatives (in some cases they end up there on their own, in others they are sent there by the state because regular shelter beds are full).

Bear with me, but before I go on with my point I want to just imagine that for a second. Living with my little kids on the side of a busy road, no kitchen, maybe no refrigerator, my family and friends are all somewhere else.  read more »

Elizabeth Curtis
Elizabeth Curtis
Fri, 05/23/2008

Is what we Measure what we've Done?

A challenge posed by United Way's Advancing the Common Good report.
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Meghan and Donna have already weighed in on the newly released report from United Way of America called "Goals for the Common Good: The United Way Challenge to America." For the reasons they've already stated I am intrigued by what this report contains - and not just because it potentially has implications for my day-to-day work!

We talk about measurement and outcomes a lot here. I personally spend a significant part of my year discussing measurement with our partner agencies, and exploring ways to improve systems so that we all know what we've accomplished and how we could improve.  read more »

Elizabeth Curtis
Elizabeth Curtis
Wed, 05/14/2008

Stronger Evidence Renters are At-Risk, Too

follow-up from Paola's post from February
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You may remember Paola's excellent post back in February that noted tenants of multi-family buildings being foreclosed were being impacted by the crisis in our community. I've just now come across an article in Banker & Tradesman that finds strong evidence of this negative impact. They found there were 306 foreclosed properties in the first quarter of this year, with 131 (or 43%) involving two- and three-family homes. A further cause for concern is that 171 of the 306 foreclosed properties were in Dorchester, and the second highest number (31) occurred in Roxbury. This obviously is alarming considering these are two of Boston's most diverse communities with a history of economic challenges...  read more »

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