Tagged: Housing

In hundreds of years, when people read the history of the 21st century, they may well call it the century of urbanization. The century in which hundreds of millions of people — billions, ultimately — left their homes in rural areas and crowded into cities, looking for new and better lives.

But how will that migration affect the planet?

Karen Seto, Associate Professor of the Urban Environment at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, argues that the impact may be profound.

The week ends the same way it began, with more questions and no answers on Sen. John Kerry's senate seat. More names have been tossed into the ring as potential replacements, but nothing has come of it, yet.

Meanwhile, Gov. Patrick has called for a complete overhaul of housing agencies in the state. Massachusetts will now consolidate 240 agencies into six regional  offices instead. The hope is to limit the kind of alleged corruption that took place in Chelsea, MA.

Gov. Deval Patrick is hoping to streamline the state's public housing system by eliminating 240 local public housing authorities and replacing them with six regional agencies aimed at ridding the system of corruption, while saving taxpayer dollars.

Back in 1989, Jake Kennedy took on a very ambitious project. Along with his wife, Sparky, Jake Kennedy set out to provide holiday fun for Boston's homeless children. Now, the event has grown into a service for all of Boston's homeless children, from every shelter in the city, and out into the suburbs. The kicker? It's all done on a volunteer basis.

Emily Rooney spoke with Jake Kennedy about Christmas in the City, which takes place December 23rd and 24th each year.

GUEST:

Skeptics of the "grand bargain" negotiation underway between President Obama and Congressional leaders are calling it a “turkey.” Several dozen activists protested outside Senator John Kerry's downtown Boston office Monday at noon to draw attention to the possibility of social spending cuts in an effort to alleviate January's "fiscal cliff."  

LISTEN: Protestor Explains Conflict

What the Candidates Think  

Lord's Department Store is the symbolic heart of downtown Medfield. You can go there to buy greeting cards, or Medfield memorabilia, or a one-dollar ham-and-pickle sandwich at the lunch counter in the back. In a big-box age, Lord's is a throwback — a term that applies to Medfield as a whole.

We use technology to solve so many of our problems, so why not homelessness? A new app in the works — the Homeless Connector — is based on the research that one doctor, here in Boston, has been doing for years. Kara Miller talks with the doctor whose research inspired the app.

GUESTS:

Turn on your TV and you’ll hear the rhetoric of the season. “Obama cut $716 billion from Medicare,” declares one political ad. “Mitt Romney: An end to the Medicare Promise,” pronounces another. The future of Medicare is an important issue for seniors, but it’s not the only one.

“There’s a lot being said about Medicare, but not much at all about long term care,” says Howard Bedlin, vice president of public policy for the advocacy group National Council on Aging. Long-term care for the elderly involves more than just access to health care. It includes issues like transportation, housing, and support services that help seniors with daily activities like eating, bathing and taking the proper medication.

“It’s a pretty broad issue that millions of families are facing, but politicians aren’t talking much about,” says Bedlin.

Callie Crossley continues our 30 Issues in 30 Days coverage talking with Anna Bissonnette, founder and board member of Hearth.

The mission of Bissonnette's organization is to find housing for homeless and low-income elderly. As our population ages and entitlement funds dry up, more older adults struggle to find a place to live.