<
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2024/0214/Why-Boston-s-wealthy-Back-Bay-said-yes-in-our-backyard>
"Garry Monteiro pauses and looks down, twiddling his thumbs. He contemplates
the biggest change to his life last year. There’s a glint in his eye that
wasn’t there before.
“To be honest with you, the refrigerator was a big deal,” Mr. Monteiro
chuckles, speaking in a community room at the 140 Clarendon building in
Boston’s upscale Back Bay neighborhood. “I can get anything I want from the
grocery store now that I have a refrigerator and my own cabinets.”
But, he adds, the biggest change is having somewhere to call his own. Before
moving into his apartment, the former mail courier spent nearly every night for
two years on an assigned bunk at a men’s shelter.
His routine was dictated by the shelter’s hours. He had to be out by 5:30 a.m.
and back before 8 p.m. He spent his days looking for jobs or with his siblings.
Every day, he worried about making it back by curfew. If he didn’t, he’d have
to sleep outside.
In the shelter, his only place for privacy was the restroom. Now, Mr. Monteiro
has his own studio with a bathroom, kitchenette, and of course, the
refrigerator. “The solitude is priceless after sleeping in a room with 30 or 40
people,” he says. “Right now I have $4 sitting on my nightstand. I’ve come and
gone all week, and it’s still there.”
The 140 Clarendon building is the rare story of a wealthy community finding
solutions to homelessness. When private hotel plans stalled at the address in
2020, the neighborhood took charge. Community associations and developers
backed a permanent supportive housing community – complete with on-site social
services – in the heart of one of Boston’s most expensive neighborhoods."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-we-are-reading-ancient-crops-caribbean-reforestation/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
