(from the Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee)

WHAT IS A ‘WINTER PLAN’?

Every year, the City of Boston and state release a ‘winter plan’ that outlines the services it will provide for people experiencing homelessness. These actions are integral to the fight for a safe and dignified survival of the Boston winter.

Last year’s plan consisted of “overflow” areas where guests slept on shelter floors or in chairs. The remaining individuals were bused to sleep in the front atriums of partner providers. Overcrowding and poor conditions caused an outbreak of meningococcal meningitis that took the lives of two homeless men. As such, a winter plan of a similar nature would not only be ineffective, but unconscionable.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Last year’s plan was not released until mid-January, a timeline that did not serve those most vulnerable in our community as inclement weather started months earlier. It’s imperative that the powers that be not only commit to, but also act upon a plan immediately. Temperatures continue to drop and the shelters remain at capacity. Those with unstable housing have increased health and safety risks, and these multiply tenfold in the winter months.

HOW CAN I HELP?

Participate in the Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee’s call in to demand an immediate release and enactment of a Boston ‘Winter Plan.’ Call or email Monica Valdes Lupi, ED of the Boston Public Health Commission and Mayor Marty Walsh during the week of 8/5. Please act sooner than later. This action will take 5 minutes, but will have a profound impact on the lives of those experiencing homelessness in Boston.

• Marty Walsh, Mayor of Boston (617)635-4500 mayor@boston.gov
• Monica Valdes Lupi, ED of the BPHC (617)534-5395 maldeslupi@bphc.org

WHAT DO I SAY?

Hello [NAME]. My name is [YOUR NAME]. I am from [YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD] and I am calling to express the need for the immediate release and implementation of a Winter Plan including:

A commitment to the following for the duration of the winter:

• Establishing enough public and private space that is safe, sanitary and secure to be used as nighttime shelter.
• Providing guests with cots to sleep on, not mats or floor space.
• Adequate storage space for guests in temporary and permanent shelters.
• Shelter hours conducive to a worker’s schedule (at least 8 PM to 6 AM).
• Consistent and reasonable transportation schedules for necessary busing.
• Ensuring a minimum of 1 case manager for every 20 shelter guests.
• Opening public facilities, such as a BCYF facility or a school, for daytime shelter and overnight drop-in.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Thank you for helping! Please take a moment and go here. If you’re interested, follow us on Facebook to stay in the loop about the Winter Plan and other news.

Friends,

We have 30 days to reach as many of the 70,000+ folks who were foreclosed in the last 20 years, up to 2014 who must file something at the registry of deeds, by December 31, 2016 (this year) .

The 120 violations of mortgage and foreclosure law means that almost every single one of these foreclosures can be shown to be illegal.

FIRST phonebanking
THIS Sunday 5:30 training/calling until 9pm (or however long you can!).
Training by skype OR
Physical location: WAFT/Pleasant St. Neighborhood Network Center, 301 Pleasant St., Worcester.

RSVP maaplinfo(AT)yahoo.com or just join us!

For hundreds of years, people have had 20 years to reverse an illegal foreclosure, the financial industry, especially the title industry, wants to end the 20 years and for people who foreclosed more than three years ago, the industry got a law passed saying they must file something (including a court filing if they have one) at their county registry of deeds.

We can get our hands of literally thousands of the phone numbers who must protect their rights and we need YOU to help us call all of them.

For electoral campaigns hundreds of thousands of calls go out in a matter of weeks, we can and must do this outreach.

Remember foreclosures have been running at three times worse the rate of foreclosures in the Great Depression. Tens of $billions of household’s wealth (and stability and health, etc.) have been taken by the banks.

If the December 31, 2016 deadline is allowed to pass without people protecting their rights in the registry of deeds, that money, that wellbeing and stability of our families, neighborhoods and communities may be irretrievable.

This is a largest wealth grab, especially from communities of color/ women heads of household that has happened since the end of slavery.

Please join the community of volunteers that will not only preserve our hundred years old rights, but begin the process of reversing these illegalities and turning the tides on the wealthiest, lawless elements of our society.

MANY thanks, Grace

Grace C Ross, Coordinator
Mass Alliance Against Predatory Lending
508-630-1686

Prof. John Tirman, director of the MIT Center for International Studies, will be speaking about immigrant rights in the US. Prof. Tirman has recently published a book about resistance to immigration in the US. Previously, he has also written about US-Iran relations, the power of social movements to effect substantive change, and many other topics in international affairs.

What: “Immigrant Rights in Trump’s America”, a talk by John Tirman
When: December 1, 5:00 pm
Where: MIT Building 56- Room 154
Contact: mitai-exec(AT)mit.edu
Event page: amnesty.mit.edu

There will also be a chance to learn about opportunities to get involved with MIT Amnesty International.

Hello –

Hope this message finds you in warm spirits. Thank you to all of those who made it to the Plan: Dudley Square meeting on 11/21. We made it loud and clear that Roxbury Residents want development without displacement, or no development. Reclaim Roxbury will not be hosting a community meeting on an anti-displacement strategy December 1st at Roxbury Community College as planned. Instead, we ask all of you to come out and make your voice heard at the Boston Redevelopment Authorities public meeting on Parcel 3-Tremont Crossing http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/tremont-crossing-(p-3), this Thursday Dec. 1st 6:15pm – 7:45pm at Central Boston Elders Services 2315 Washington Street. The BRA will be speaking about the impacts of the project on the neighborhood.

Reclaim Roxbury has been watching development projects proposed by the Boston Redevelopment Agency/BPDA in Roxbury closely to make sure Roxbury Residents will not be displaced as a result of the City’s plans. At the last Plan: Dudley Square meeting the BRA/BPDA said publicly that they are committed to development without displacement – we are committed to holding them to that.

“Tremont Crossing” is a proposed project at the corner of Tremont and Whittier St near Ruggles Station that is currently under review for development. It will bring almost 700 units of housing to the Lower Roxbury area. Only 13% of the units are planned to be affordable, and they will only be affordable for families with one or more children if they have incomes of $60,000 to $70,000 a year. Yet the majority of families in Roxbury have incomes in the range of $25,000 a year. More than 600 units will be market rate units for about $2000 or more a month. As it stands, this project will further gentrify Roxbury and speed up the displacement of current Roxbury Residents. What’s worse, the developers of Tremont Crossing/P3, Feldco Development, plan to use 90,000 square feet of space in the new project to build a BJ’s Wholesale Club and other retails with similar low wages. This means not only will residents be displaced, but they will be given mostly low paying jobs that will make it harder to afford their own communities. We support the Elma Lewis Partners’ plans for a National Center for Afro-American Artists. But we do not support Feldco’s plan that will displace Afro-American people and other minorities that have historically lived in Roxbury

Come out on Thursday Dec. 1st at 6:15pm and make it clear that we want development WITHOUT displacement and good paying jobs. Bring a neighbor or friend. Stay tuned for the next Reclaim Roxbury meeting.

I look forward to seeing you there,
Armani – Reclaim Roxbury Organizing Committee

For more information on Parcel 3:
http://www.bostonplans.org/news-calendar/calendar/2016/12/01/parcel-p-3-project-review-committee-meeting

Please join us for a conversation about solitary confinement and immigration detainees. Everyday about 800 immigrants are locked up in county jails and detention centers across Massachusetts.

These women and men are civil detainees who may be waiting for a decision on their asylum application, may have overstayed a visa, or may be contesting deportation. They may be placed in solitary confinement for breaking rules or because they are at risk of being harmed by other detainees (for example, because they identify as transgender).

In May 2015, the UN passed rules that prohibit solitary confinement lasting more than 15 days and in 2011 the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture concluded that solitary confinement for more than 15 days constitutes torture and can cause irreversible harmful psychological effects. How should this issue be addressed?

WHEN: Noon on Thursday, December 1st
WHERE: Moot Courtroom, UMass Law, 333 Faunce Corner Road, Dartmouth, Mass.

Speakers:
Attorney Elizabeth Matos, Massachusetts Prisoner Legal Services Attorney Lisa Newman-Polk, former Mass. Dept. of Corrections clinician who is familiar with solitary confinement and its impact on mental health. Attorney Ellen Gallagher, Senior Policy Advisor, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

This is one of several events marking the 15th anniversary year of the Immigration Litigation Clinic at UMass Law. It is co-sponsored by the UMass Law Review, the International Law Students Association, and the Latin American Law Students Association.