Before I joined the Center for Social Innovation, I worked at a residential treatment program for adolescent girls with behavioral health issues. All had experienced severe or recurring trauma. Most were neglected or abused by a person close to them. For some, their childhood trauma included periods of homelessness. They had spent time on the streets, in shelters, doubled up with friends or family members, and in unstable housing where they were one crisis away from another bout of homelessness.
When I think of homelessness, I frequently think of the 7-Eleven on Dartmouth Street in the Back Bay of Boston. As a child and young adult growing up in that neighborhood, I shopped at this 7-Eleven for drinks, batteries, ice, and other convenience store items. I walked by it on the way to Copley Place or Prudential Center. I passed by it on the way to Copley Station where I took the T to school every morning when I was younger and to work every day when I came home from college. It was on the way to the library, to nice restaurants, and to the supermarket. It is safe to say that I passed by this location almost every day for two decades.
02/3/15 03:17 PM | Alex Shulman | Recovery, Social Justice
Read MoreThe current cold weather reminded me of a story. A few months ago I read about a life-size statue of an ordinary man that was placed on the snowy grounds of a women’s college campus in Wellesley, Massachusetts (Wellesley College). He appeared to be sleepwalking with arms outstretched, eyes closed, and wearing only his underwear. The statue provoked outrage and controversy after its installment last winter.
01/9/15 03:52 PM | Gloria Dickerson | Recovery, Trauma
Read MoreBy Nick Garza and Collin J. Whelley --
12/19/14 01:45 PM | MISim | Recovery, Homelessness
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