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 […]
The credit union’s donation will support the SOS Urgent Response initiative. Haverhill – Merrimack Valley Credit Union (MVCU) has donated $10,000 to Catie’s Closet, a nonprofit organization in Dracut Mass., to support their SOS Urgent Response program. Founded in 2009, Catie’s Closet provides clothes, toiletries and other essentials to students who cannot afford them by setting up secure stores […]
Some Expenditures Exceeded $9,000 per Month and Over $100K a Year BOSTON – The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance released the following statement in response to The Boston Herald story over the weekend which shows the state is paying up to $300 dollars a night for some of the housing under the emergency shelter program. The Herald story […]
Valley Patriot investigation shows Lawrence Homeless Coordinator tried to steer federal funds to her own non-profit, funds administered through her department. Felon Kelly Birchall Frazier, Homeless Coordinator for the City of Lawrence, and her husband Donald Frazier of New Hampshire (also a convicted felon who goes by the “street name” Debo Brown) filed […]
03-24 Kane Peaslee could not believe how energetic and motivated his new friend Commander Eileen Suarez is. Kane says,” It’s impressive how many purposeful tasks Eileen squeezes in each day.” Every morning Kane gets up at 6:00AM but really it’s just to eat, then he goes back to bed. Eileen does not go back […]
By: Kevin Dube – Feb, 2024 Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has chosen the perfect way to show how Democrats care about disadvantaged Black citizens with her decision to close the Melnea Cass Recreation Complex in order to house illegal aliens on the first day of Black History Month. The complex, located at 120 Martin […]
And Return To Living In A Tent By: Dr. Bharani Padmanabhan – Feb. 2024 When interviewed by the spineless Governor’s Council after declaring she wanted “to serve” on the bench, Debra Squires-Lee recalled time spent in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, and Wyoming and said “From the time I was 10 until I was 15 […]