Ten years ago, the man who led ABCD for 41 of his 45 years with the organization passed away. Robert M. Coard, renowned as a builder of social institutions, was a catalyst in the national community action movement launched with the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Robert Coard “had ideas that the city could be better, that…
Like gasoline, heating oil is selling at an all-time high, and that’s hurting people in the cold weather. John Drew heads Action for Boston Community Development, or ABCD. The organization provides assistance to the needy, and their heating oil fund has run dry. “Two-hundred seventy-five gallons times $6 is a lot of money, and people don’t have it,” he said….
CANTON, Mass. — Home heating prices are skyrocketing as we approach the winter months. Several groups are working to step up their efforts to help people afford their heating bills. The social workers at the Salvation Army say they are seeing a different type of clientele this year: people who have never asked for help before. Inflation apparently is putting more…
Timothy Edwards uses a power drill to fasten the array frame together as Narkeisha Gilbert and Lhoucine Bouhaddou hold it in place during the solar technician training class. (Jesse Costa/WBUR) Instructor Carlos Antunes watched as his students, wielding power drills and socket wrenches, assembled metal racks on the floor, then mounted four large solar panels on them. “Don’t forget your…
Avery Bleichfeld Massachusetts state officials are touting programs that they say will help people of all income levels access bigger-ticket climate actions in a new campaign launched this month. The campaign, from the state’s Energy and Environmental Affairs Department, advertises things like buying electric vehicles, weatherizing a home, installing heat pumps and using solar power as solutions individuals can pursue…
Artic air brought temperatures in the single digits and teens to most of Massachusetts on Tuesday. As people struggle to stay warm during the cold snap with space heaters, fire safety officials and anti-poverty advocates shared advice on how to stay safe. Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said space heater safety should be foremost in people’s minds, especially in…
Should someone convicted of assault for a schoolyard brawl decades ago be banned from working in child care? What if that person was charged but never convicted? A sea change in state and federal laws governing criminal background checks for child care workers, intended to improve safety in day care, could force out thousands who have a prior offense, even if they’ve…
Millions of children lifted out of poverty once more face harsh conditions The significant and historic Child Tax Credit that this year lifted more than 3.6 million children in America out of poverty must be extended beyond December 2021. “On behalf of the millions of families and children who will be losing this life-saving benefit in January, we beg the…
The 2020 ABCD Annual Report featured a story about Rachel Carle, a Danvers resident who was laid off in the early days of the pandemic. A senior director with a booming Cambridge company, she was 30 years into a satisfying career when suddenly everything changed. “When I lost my job, I didn’t know where to turn. I was panicking, afraid…
Getting a summer job used to mean scooping ice cream at the mall or working the drive-thru at Burger King. Then came the Great Recession, followed by a rush for teens to spend their summers padding their college résumés with coding and language camps. That changed again when the world closed for COVID-19, and then reopened. Not all adults returned…