Many Boston residents will spend Thanksgiving without food or shelter, warned representatives of local advocacy groups and members of the community at yesterday’s Home and Harvest Rally at the Statehouse.
As part of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, the rally aimed to remind legislators to keep these issues high on their priority list.
‘I think homelessness in Boston is obscene,’ said Dr. Claire Cummings, editor of Survival News, a grassroots women’s newspaper. ‘Where are our priorities?’ she asked the crowd of approximately 100 people. She criticized the community’s failure to address the needs of local families.
Speakers offered personal stories and opinions on homelessness before entering the Statehouse to speak directly with legislators about efforts to reduce poverty in the Boston area.
The Rev. Richard Richardson introduced the rally’s cause for concern.
‘We’re here today not only as advocates, but as concerned human beings,’ he said. ‘If we look around, we see a tremendous number of families in need of food or shelter.’
The rally’s guest speakers included representatives of several homeless advocacy groups in the region. Judy Whitmarsh, director of social policy for Catholic Charities, a major sponsor of the rally, said the group gathered because of the ‘desire to end hunger and to end homelessness.’
Whitmarsh outlined her organization’s goal of donating 4,000 turkeys that will help feed 12,000 families during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Dr. Jennifer Casper, a fellow in pediatrics at the Boston Medical Center, outlined an informal study conducted by herself and her colleagues that surveyed 400 immigrant Latino families from the area and found 300 of them had experienced housing difficulties at one time or another.
Several single mothers spoke about their experiences with homelessness while working full-time to support children. Each called for a change in legislation that would give more aid to those experiencing hunger and homelessness. This aid has been limited by recent state budget cuts.
The hour-long rally ended with an invitation for concerned community members to question legislators directly inside the Statehouse.
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