Vulnerable But Vigilant
We elderly and disabled persons are highly vulnerable to COVID-19 because we have preexisting conditions which can make it harder to survive an infection. Our public and subsidized housing can become dangerous if COVID-19 enters. And medical protocols for dealing with scarce resources may doom us by withholding potentially life-saving treatments. As governments loosen restrictions on interactions in public spaces and allowing some services to begin serving the public, many people are relaxing their guard. But for those of us who are vulnerable, this is a time of increased danger and if we are to survive, we need to be more vigilant.
So for us, we need to make every effort to avoid infection. Here's how.
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Do Commonwealth Triage Protocols Apply Fair and Just Social Values to Elderly & Disabled?
The social norms that devalue people of age and disability are choices. The choices made by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in Crisis Standards of Care: Planning Guidance for the COVID-19 Pandemic attempt to avoid bias, but nevertheless are affected by bias. Other choices can and should be made.
Essential services for elderly & disabled
We seek your advice and your assistance for our people, the 92,000 residents of the Commonwealth who live in public and subsidized housing for elderly and disabled persons.
We are looking for people with experience who can share their ideas and skills in order to develop solutions to the problems arising from social distancing, specially for elderly and disabled in public or subsidized housing communities.
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How We, Elderly & Disabled, Will Survive & Thrive Despite COVID-19
We provide updated information about the risks of COVID-19 to the elderly and disabled living in public and subsidized housing; steps that each person can take; and best practices & protocols that should be followed by landlords and local housing authorities. Updated: June 9, 2020
Hospitality, gentrification, and pride
This is a story about generosity, hospitality, gentrification, and pride in Peabody.
V., a friend and neighbor, had at one time managed the Haven from Hunger, where anyone can be fed or get food for free. To make up for a lack of funding, V. had spent her own savings to provide food for the Haven. After she had moved away, I learned in a news story that she had become homeless, and was eating at the Haven from Hunger.
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A Strong Ombuds
Our proposed modifications of S985 will provide protection for victims of bullying and accountability for the landlord. We speak from the perspective of tenants and others who are familiar with the realities of bullying in multifamily housing, and based on extensive observation, research, and testimony. Bullying is extremely harmful to elderly and disabled persons living in multifamily housing. In law, the landlord is responsible for assuring peaceful enjoyment, but the tenant has no feasible way to be protected from bullying or to hold the landlord to account.
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Now We Must Stop the Retaliation: An Open Letter to Legislators, the Governor, and the People
No one deserves to endure hostility in their home, to be driven out by malice, or to be pursued by retaliation.
Ms. Pamela Goodwin is one of the most unfailingly honest, compassionate people I have ever known, diligent in her pursuit of fairness and justice for all those that come into her view.
We present here a well-documented history of alleged bullying, mobbing, and retaliation against Ms. Goodwin.
Our purpose is not to seek justice or revenge, but to bring these issues to the attention of Beacon Hill, Governor Baker, and to the public.
Outreach, Community Organization & Advocacy
The strategy of the Stop Bullying Coalition is to continue seeking action on Beacon Hill, and doing outreach and education in local communities. This outreach work will help empower tenants to organize in their housing developments, to do community outreach, and to build local coalitions that can educate their communities as well as grow our roster of advocates.
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Ripples and Waves in Lowell Housing
The revolution in Lowell began on Thursday, September 19, 2019 in the Mercier Community Center at a meeting of the Lowell Anti-Bullying Coalition held to discuss the issue of bullying in housing. Lynn Costello, a tenant in the South Common Village community, worked closely with Christin Shelton, a social worker, to initiate this gathering. The participants began the process of working together to understand bullying and mobbing and to begin the task of education and taking action.
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My activism as a child, our activism today.
I became a proud activist in 1940 at the age of 4, when I assisted my father, Ernst, to do slum-clearance photographs in Mission Hill, Boston. The apparent success of our work helped to form the direction of my life work, seeking to empower the powerless.
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