Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

State Government's Response To Homelessness: The Massachusetts Experience, 1983-1990, Nancy K. Kaufman

New England Journal of Public Policy

When Governor Michael S. Dukakis reentered the State House in January 1983, he focused his inaugural address and priorities for his incoming administration on solving the problem of homelessness. This article describes the policy approach taken during his two successive terms as governor from 1983 to 1990, outlines the various steps taken to rally public and private support and resources on preventing the problem and on finding long-term, permanent solutions designed to solve it, and points to some of the lessons learned during these years of experimentation and innovation.

Let Them Have Housing, Wendy Quinones

New England Journal of Public Policy

Does eliminating homelessness primarily require social services or affordable housing? Research done among former guests of the family shelter operated by Wellspring House, Inc., suggests that, at least for one group of homeless mothers, the provision of secure and affordable housing enables them to function and even to flourish. This article explores both the research and its philosophical underpinnings.

Anger, A. E. S.

New England Journal of Public Policy

Poetry by A.E.S., a member of the Portland (Maine) Coalition for the Psychiatrically Disabled.

The Grassroots Home: How Local Communities Are Fighting Homelessness, Sheila Rauch Kennedy

New England Journal of Public Policy

In the 1980s federal policy combined with market forces to produce the American tragedy of homelessness. Since that time influential policymakers have debated every aspect of the issue, but avoided the large-scale commitment needed for solutions. Locally, however, grassroots efforts have made these commitments and forged the coalitions needed to address the issue. The solution to homelessness lies in harnessing these same successful public and private resources on the regional and national levels.

Massachusetts At The Crossroads, Richard E. Ring

New England Journal of Public Policy

Massachusetts is at a critical juncture in its care for homeless individuals. In the face of a charged political climate and with a governor bent on the "downsizing" and "privatization" of government services, decisions are being made that are of major importance to the welfare of homeless individuals in this state. Based on the choices of the state administration, Massachusetts can either solve its homelessness problem in the near future or relegate its homeless population to a lifetime spent on the streets or in shelters. In comparison to other states, Massachusetts has been relatively successful in caring for homeless people. …

A Visit To The Vet Hospital, D. B.

New England Journal of Public Policy

D.B. is a member of the Portland (Maine) Coalition for the Psychiatrically Disabled. His poem first appeared in The Portland Coalition Advocate. Reprinted with permission.

The Needs Of Hartford's Homeless Mentally Ill, Steven Kessler

New England Journal of Public Policy

A state budget deficit in Connecticut threatens the closing of state mental hospitals and holds the potential of displacing chronically mentally ill patients into homelessness. This article explores the historical association between deinstitutionalization of patients from mental hospitals and subsequent homelessness. One third to two thirds of homeless individuals are mentally ill and require intensive, specific, and targeted responses by the community to end their homelessness. Trends in the care of the chronically mentally ill and the conditions of those who are homeless in Connecticut are explored. Model treatment programs are discussed to suggest possible actions, and recommendations that would …

Aggressive Outreach To Homeless Mentally Ill People, Ellen Nasper, Melissa Curry, Elizabeth Omara-Otunnu

New England Journal of Public Policy

Historically, people with chronic mental illnesses have been particularly at risk for homelessness. In 1984, the Connecticut Department of Mental Health (DMH) articulated policy to insure housing for mentally ill persons. One facet of that policy is to increase mental health services to homeless people. The Greater Bridgeport Community Mental Health Center has addressed this need through the formation of the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT). This article describes the development, organization, clinical work, and future of HOT. The team is run jointly by the Mental Health Center (funded through DMH) and Family Service-Woodfield, a United Way-funded agency that provides case …

In Search Of Safety: Double Jeopardy For Battered Women, Pamela H. Zappardino, Deborah Debare

New England Journal of Public Policy

Battering is the single most common cause of injury to U.S. women. Its myriad consequences affect every aspect of the lives of its victims and its children. In their search for safety, many battered women and their children find themselves homeless not because they do not have homes, but because their homes are unsafe. They are homeless because to go home would invite further injury or even death. This article discusses the unique issues and implications of double jeopardy for battered women, including the crisis components of their homelessness, the economic and emotional impacts, the child custody issues, the inadequacy …

Friday Report - Vol. 01, No. 13 - March 13, 1992, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1991-1996, Friday Report

No abstract provided.

It'll Take More Than A Miracle: Income In Single-Mother Families In Massachusetts, 1979-1987, Chris Tilly, Randy Albelda

McCormack Graduate School General Publications (active until 2013)

Through the 1980s, the Massachusetts economy grew rapidly. Most Massachusetts families benefited from this economic boom, and saw their incomes rise much more rapidly than the U.S. average. But Massachusetts single mothers and their children, who started out with lower incomes than other families, experienced only minimal income growth, and fell further behind other families in the Bay State. In this paper, we analyze income differences among family types in Massachusetts. We pay special attention to the problems of single mothers, and offer a set of policy recommendations to address these problems.

In order to undertake this analysis, we classify …

Friday Report - Vol. 01, No. 12 - February 28, 1992, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1991-1996, Friday Report

No abstract provided.

Friday Report - Vol. 01, No. 11 - February 14, 1992, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1991-1996, Friday Report

No abstract provided.

Friday Report - Vol. 01, No. 10 - February 7, 1992, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1991-1996, Friday Report

No abstract provided.

Medicare Supplemental Insurance: Today's Crisis, Health Care For All, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

The purpose of health insurance is to spread risk. The system works under the assumption that, at any given point in time, only a percentage of the people in a given group will be sick. Regardless of health status, all members of the group will be paying premiums in order to cover the cost of care for those who need it.

As a group, however, seniors represent a high-risk population. They are more likely than younger people to need health care services and tend to require longer hospital stays. Yet, while their expenses are greater, their financial resources are generally …

Friday Report - Vol. 01, No. 09 - January 31, 1992, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1991-1996, Friday Report

No abstract provided.

Friday Report - Vol. 01, No. 08 - January 24, 1992, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1991-1996, Friday Report

No abstract provided.

Du Bois And The Boys' Club Of The 'Great Books', Bill Farrell

Trotter Review

During the autumn of 1990 the Encyclopedia Britannica published the Great Books of the Western World, its selection of Western civilization's sixty best works. Newspapers respectfully reported the event. Commentators acclaimed the set's affirmation of Western culture. A scholarly symposium at the Library of Congress celebrated the collection's publication. The National Press Club, usually concerned with major politicians and famous journalists, invited Mortimer Adler, the series editor in chief, to address it.

In his interviews and public appearances connected with the publication of the series, Adler stressed that to be a great book a work must discuss a large …

Are Today's Teachers Being Prepared For Diversity? An Analysis Of School Catalogues, James Jennings, Illene Carver

Trotter Review

A recent content analysis study shows that while leading educators in Massachusetts stress the importance of preparing teachers for an increasingly diverse world, most teacher preparation schools virtually ignore the issue of racial and ethnic diversity in catalogues recruiting new students. This not only discourages people from diverse backgrounds from becoming teachers, but could also create a lack of understanding in the classroom of the black, Latino, and Asian students being taught.

A summary of A Content Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Themes in Catalogues Distributed by Teacher Preparation Schools in Massachusetts, 1989 and 1990, a report issued by …

Thoughts On Black Conservativism: A Review Essay, Martin Kilson

Trotter Review

In Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby, Stephen L. Carter, an Afro-American law professor at Yale University, has written a wide-ranging book on affirmative action policy. Like numerous other books on the subject, Carter covers the issues of its legitimacy as policy, white opposition, impact on black mobility, and contradictions faced by universities in administering affirmative action. Carter also offers a new area of discussion — namely, the evolving division among Afro-Americans regarding affirmative action, allocating six of eleven chapters to facets of this issue. Carter uses his own experiences to frame these discussions — a mode of discourse …

Latinos In Lowell, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Holyoke, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Framingham, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Worcester, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Somerville, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Introduction, James Jennings

Trotter Review

This issue of the Trotter Institute Review is devoted to a two-part proposition. The first is that institutions, agencies, businesses, and schools must begin to reflect the increasingly diverse ethnic and racial characteristics of American society. America is in the midst of a demographic revolution. It is unfortunate that some educators have chosen to ignore the social, economic, and intellectual implications of this change and that others have even become angry and attacked efforts to create an appreciation of multiculturalism.

This unfortunate resistance to the implications of America's unfolding demography leads to the second proposition reflected in this issue of …

An Interview With John D. O'Bryant, Harold Horton

Trotter Review

The following is an interview with John D. O'Bryant, vice-president for student affairs at Northeastern University and former president of the Boston School Committee. A new, appointed, school committee was sworn into office on January 6, 1992. This interview with the former president should offer a unique perspective on past achievements and future hopes for education in Boston.

Latinos In Lynn, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Cambridge, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …

Latinos In Chelsea, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy was established at the University of Massachusetts Boston in December of 1989. The creation of the Gaston Institute responds to the need for better understanding of the experience and conditions of life of Latinos in the Commonwealth. In an effort to facilitate access to vital information about Latinos to various audiences, and with support from the Boston Foundation, the Gaston Institute has produced a series of basic demographic profiles for selected cities in the Commonwealth based on the 1990 United States Census. These profiles are but one part of …