Hi there!

In this week’s newsletter we examined homelessness in Massachusetts and the impact you can have by contributing to and participating in the Winter Walk Boston campaign to end homelessness. 

Homelessness in Massachusetts

While fewer families nationally are experiencing homelessness, in Massachusetts more families are experiencing homelessness. There are many factors contributing to this but it is almost certainly a result of more expensive building developments across the state. In fact, across the country Massachusetts has the 3rd highest housing wage, the hourly rate needed to be able to afford an apartment. 

As for the individuals experiencing homelessness, we see disproportionate representation of Massachusetts residents of color. Black residents are 5.7x more likely to be homeless in Massachusetts than White residents, with 125 Black residents experiencing homelessness per 10,000 in the general population. This disparity is present across the country. While Black Americans make up 13% of the US population they represent 40% of the population experiencing homelessness.

‘Why don’t I see more homeless people if MA ranks this high?’

Massachusetts has a very high ‘shelter rate’ meaning that a large percentage of people experiencing homelessness are able to find temporary shelter, keeping them off the street. This does not however do anything to provide long term housing or relief for these individuals and families. 

Winter Walk Boston

“The Winter Walk is an event and initiative that believes ending homelessness is within our reach. Our mission is to raise funds and awareness towards that goal, and to support organizations in Greater Boston that are working on prevention, support, and care for our homeless community” - Winter Walk Boston

On February 7th, Winter Walk will be concluding it’s winter campaign to raise money for it’s amazing partner organizations. Their goal is to raise $220,000 but right now they are far below at $69,000. 

How you can help

To help support Winter Walk, our team created a specific fundraising page for A Better Boston subscribers. Please donate at the link below, 100% of funds raised to go to Winter Walk partner organizations. 

That's all for today! As always we greatly appreciate you helping us grow by sharing us with your friends, family, and on social media.

Best!

A Better Boston team

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