What “The Movement Family” Proved About the Homeless Crisis ~ VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL (DEC. 18)

What “The Movement Family” Proved About the Homeless Crisis  ~  VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL (DEC. 18)

If there is one thing that Michael Gorman and his volunteers at TMF (The Movement Family) have proved over the last six months, it’s that helping the homeless and making people’s lives better only takes one thing: effort. For six months TMF offered food, clothing, detox services, transitional housing, and other counseling services to the […]

Mayor Orders Police to Throw Homeless Out of Buckley Garage, Shuts Down Group That Fed and Serviced the Homeless

Mayor Orders Police to Throw Homeless Out of Buckley Garage, Shuts Down Group That Fed and Serviced the Homeless

Despite Proof That Photos of Garbage and Needles Were Not from TMF, Rivera Doubles Down For the past 6 months a volunteer group of teens and young people from Lawrence called “The Movement Family” (TMF) have been serving a family style dinner to the homeless at the Buckley Garage on Common Street.  The group, run by […]

Hey Columbia Gas- The Homeless Have No Temporary Homes

Hey Columbia Gas- The Homeless Have No Temporary Homes

By: Joe D’Amore  – November, 2018 There are at least 350 trailers dotting the landscape of Campagnone green and the large parking lot at Pemberton Park along North Canal street in Lawrence. And the new owner of IndusPad, the former Polartec facility, has temporarily converted a portion of the facility into a congregant center offering […]

Diehl Promises to Help DayBreak Shelter in Lawrence

Diehl Promises to Help DayBreak Shelter in Lawrence

  “Warren has ignored the poorest of the poor here at Daybreak” Last month we learned that United States Senator Elizabeth Warren – who is running for reelection – has never toured the Daybreak Homeless Shelter in Lawrence. She was elected in 2012 promising to care about the poor, but with Lawrence being one of […]

MA State Senate Passes Bill Facilitating Access to State IDs for Homeless

MA State Senate Passes Bill Facilitating Access to State IDs for Homeless

BOSTON – Today, the Massachusetts Senate passed S.2568, An Act to provide identification to homeless youth and families. Currently, a person who is looking to obtain a Massachusetts identification card must provide a proof of residence – a task that is unnecessarily burdensome for persons experiencing homelessness. This legislation creates exemptions in the process of obtaining […]

The Problem Everyone Wants to Ignore, The Homeless in Lawrence ~ PAYING ATTENTION with TOM DUGGAN

The Problem Everyone Wants to Ignore, The Homeless in Lawrence  ~ PAYING ATTENTION with TOM DUGGAN

  MAY, 2018 Driving through the City of Lawrence it’s almost impossible not to notice the homeless population, whether they are pan-handling on the corners of the busiest intersections, or hassling people for a cigarette or a dollar outside local establishments. Unfortunately, most people turn their heads and pretend not to see the human carnage […]

If You Build It, They Will Come – Rail Trails and Heroin Trails ~ PAYING ATTENTION with TOM DUGGAN

If You Build It, They Will Come – Rail Trails and Heroin Trails ~ PAYING ATTENTION with TOM DUGGAN

Last month, the state legislature approved giving Lawrence another $1.5M for … get this … improvements to the “rail trail”. For those who don’t know what the “rail trail” is, check this out. Your local and state officials have been spending millions of your tax dollars every year to create pretty walking areas along dead […]

Lawrence Mayor Cracks Down on “Tent City” Homeless Encampment, Sets Up Police Command Under Bridge

Lawrence Mayor Cracks Down on “Tent City” Homeless Encampment, Sets Up Police Command Under Bridge

  By Tom Duggan – July 26, 2017 Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera’s new “Homeless Coordinator” Anil “Nilly” DaCosta has issued a new directive to manage the ongoing problem of dozens of homeless squatters living under the Casey Bridge. The encampment, known as “Tent City” has been a haven for drugs, prostitution, and other crimes in […]

Cape Ann Communities Like Lawrence Hold Keys to Eradicating Homelessness

Cape Ann Communities Like Lawrence Hold Keys to Eradicating Homelessness

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 […]

Salvatore’s Donates and Serves Gourmet Meal to Homeless in Lawrence

Salvatore’s Donates and Serves Gourmet Meal to Homeless in Lawrence

  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 […]