July 2021

Featured Story: “Pathways Out of Homelessness.”

The Boston Coalition for Homeless Individuals (Boston Health Care for the Homeless, Pine Street Inn, Project Place and St. Francis House) hosted the forum, entitled “Pathways Out of Homelessness.” The virtual forum was held Wednesday, July 28th at 2:30 p.m. and was moderated by Marcela García, op-ed columnist and editorial member of The Boston Globe.

Program participants were invited to take part in interviews where they shared their lived experiences of homelessness in Boston to help inform the questions that moderator, Marcela García, will ask the candidates. These community members were also offered the opportunity to pose their own questions directly to the candidates through video. Project Place clients and graduates were proud to participate and have their voices heard in this important conversation. When asked what he would propose as a solution to addressing homelessness, a Project Place graduate paused and said, “You want to hear my opinion? Nobody ever asks for my opinion.” Encouraged, he smiled. He went on to describe his experience with homelessness over the past decade, what he sees as the biggest barriers to accessing and maintaining housing, and his ideas on practical solutions to the issue.