PHOTOS HERE By: Tom Duggan – June 21, 2017 LAWRENCE – A two alarm fire at 18 Arlington St. in Lawrence left at least 7 people homeless early Wednesday morning. Fire companies from Dracut and other communities raced to the city as flames billowed out of the second and third floor of the building. The […]
By: Joe D’Amore – October, 2016 The city of Lawrence and several Cape Ann communities have an almost intractable homelessness problem not unlike other urban centers in the United States. The twin primary drivers are lack of affordable housing and an economy that does not produce sufficient jobs for people looking for them throughout the […]
THE ELECTION IS THURSDAY, SEPT. 8th The Valley Patriot in conjunction with the Greater Lawrence Psychological Center’s Carina Pappalardo, hosted a debate for the Republican candidates for Essex County Sheriff. The event was held at the American Legion on Broadway in Methuen and was covered by both the Methuen and Salisbury cable access channels. The […]
With the Daybreak Homeless Shelter in Lawrence in desperate need of funding to care for the less fortunate, the new owner of Salvatore’s Restaurant, Mike Agricola, showed up last month with two of his staff, Eric Soucy and Joyce Philbrick, to lend a helping hand. “This is wonderful,” Carina Pappalardo, head of the Greater […]
By: Joe D’Amore-4-12-16 When the sun goes down and the amber street lights flicker on, the arches under the bridge where a large population of homeless people live take on a surreal, nocturnal ambiance. The muted voices of people huddled in tents and makeshift lean-tos contrast the ceaseless din of cars overhead. In the distance […]
Over coffee and pastry, fifty people attended the first legislative open house at Daybreak Shelter in Lawrence, MA. In tight quarters, Carina Pappalardo, Chief Executive Officer, discussed the agency’s partnership with the Coalition for Homeless Individuals. The homeless make up a third of the state’s homeless population in Massachusetts. A population that is on the rise […]
By: Tom Duggan – Dec. 2015 Serving more than 1,500 meals per month and having room to shelter only 50 people per night, the Daybreak Homeless Shelter in Lawrence is in severe need of additional funding as well as a new facility. According to Psychological Center CEO, Carina Pappalardo, the Daybreak Shelter serves 1,600 homeless […]
By: Carina Pappalardo As Valley Patriot readers know, The Psychological Center in Lawrence has undergone some major changes this past year. Fortunately, Daybreak Shelter and our other programs, Pegasus House, Women’s View, and Safe Haven are weathering the storm that passed. As you can imagine, it takes a lot to run a shelter the size of […]
By: Joe D’Amore – Oct. 2105 If cities and towns define extreme poverty and homelessness as a public-health issue, the public-policy responses will be quite different than what we are used to today. Consider that in all cases a homeless person, or someone who lives in extreme poverty, is marginal in most, if not all, […]
By: Cheryl Hajjar – April 26, 2014 As some of you know my company, Indigo Magic was a recent Merrimack Valley Sandbox Winter Accelerator winner in February. Here ,17 finalists gathered for 3 months in a grant program that helped us all accelerate our businesses. At the first class, I sat down next to Mickey […]
By: State Senator Pavel Payano – 6/24 In a landmark decision, the Massachusetts Senate has unanimously passed a budget totaling $57.999 billion for the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25). This significant decision followed three days of robust and bipartisan debate, resulting in the adoption of over 400 amendments and 43 roll call votes. The Senate added […]
By: Katie Cook – 6/24 Service clubs truly are the heart of the Merrimack Valley! Typically, these clubs are professional men & women coming together to provide service to our communities, in line with their national organizations mission. They are neighbors, friends, and leaders volunteering their skills and resources to solve issues and address […]
By: John Cuddy – 5/24 The 2024 John Ratka Hero Veteran Award recipient, Haverhill’s Eric Ryan graduated from Haverhill High School in 1988. While growing up in the city with his brother, he was greatly influenced by his two grandfathers, both World War II Veterans. One, left Norwich University during his sophomore year, after the […]
By: John Cuddy – 4-24 The Valley Patriot this March, met with Haverhill’s Veteran Services Director, US Army and Massachusetts National Guard Veteran Jeffrey Hollett and discussed the five basic needs of our Nation’s Veterans. Most Veterans consider those needs to be housing, health care, access to education, employment, and most importantly, support and […]
Last month, at The Valley Patriot’s 20th Anniversary BASH, not only did the newspaper give out $58,000 in scholarship money to local students but several people were honored for their work in the community with recognitions and awards. THE JOHN RATKA HERO VETERANS AWARD Because honoring Veterans is so much a part of what we […]