Those who seek shelter or service won’t be turned away

SOUTH END—An unmarked van rolls up to Pine Street Inn’s back lot and several men and women with shamrocks pinned to their green shirts begin to unload steaming pots and pans.

Every third Saturday of the month, about 18 members of the Holy Ghost Parish in Whitman serve a prepared meal to 300 homeless men at the shelter on Harrison Avenue. This Saturday’s dinner was in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, with 150 pounds of corned beef, 150 pounds of potatoes and 50 pounds of cabbage.

Coffie Fields, the volunteer coordinator at Pine Street Inn, said she gets many requests from individuals and groups seeking to volunteer. Many are like those from the Holy Ghost parish, members of a local church.

“We focus on getting volunteers who show potential for long-term, consistent volunteering,” Fields said. “But we won’t turn others away unless help isn’t needed for that particular day.”

Paul Stokinger, Ed MacGilvrey, and Wayne Andrews have collectively spent over 75 years volunteering at the Inn. In the many years they have spent preparing and serving food here, they have noticed a change in the volume of homeless men they cater to.

“We used to serve up to 500, but now it’s usually somewhere between 250 and 325 people,” Stokinger said.

“And we have never run out of food,” MacGilvrey said.

They said a day of cooking in their parish kitchen and driving 20 miles to serve the food was rewarding.

“We never want to serve something that isn’t good so we try it, especially the desserts,” Andrews said.

Particularly during the holiday season in November and December there is an influx of people wishing to volunteer. Overall, the numbers of individuals and groups seeking to help at the Pine Street Inn are steady, Fields said.

According to Pine Street Inn’s annual report, nearly 60 percent of revenue, over $20 million, is government funded. Over $2.9 million is raised through in-kind donations, accounting for only 7 percent of the budget.

“We’ve been spared from cuts,” Fields said.

Though funding has been the same for the past few years, costs have continued to rise at the Inn. As a result, developmental housing projects and renovations have slowed.

A building on Upton Street is being renovated and, when completed, will be sold at market price. Originally, the building was intended to be permanent housing for homeless men and women, but changed as the result of an agreement with the Union Park Neighborhood Association.

“The decision to sell was more of an effort to appease residents of the South End, but the money doesn’t hurt,” Fields said.

Controversy came from South End residents who said that the permanent housing project could alter the character of the neighborhood. A compromise to sell one row house was made that would keep 19 units available to formerly homeless men and women.

Amid the slow development process for permanent housing, Pine Street Inn is providing emergency shelter for 450 men and women. When there aren’t enough beds, surrounding shelters are contacted until all who wish for shelter receive it.

“Yesterday, we shuttled 35 people to Pilgrim Shelter in Dorchester,” said David Johnson, a supervisor at the check-in desk. “We won’t turn anyone away just because we may be full.”

Ruggles Crime Rate Gives NU Students Reason to Shuttle

By Megan Donovan

ROXBURY -- Ruggles station, which borders Northeastern University had significantly higher crime rates than nearby stations at Massachusetts Avenue and Roxbury Crossing, according to recent MBTA. Last year, Ruggles had 35 crimes reported, or 8 percent of total crime on the Orange Line. The Mass Ave station had 19 and Roxbury Crossing had 18 crimes reported.

“The MBTA is one of the safest forms of transportation in the country,” said James Varior, associate director of crime prevention at Northeastern University. “Ruggles is one of the busier stations. Buses, the T and the commuter rail all run out of there.”

Varior says Ruggles’ proximity to high schools such as Boston Latin School affects the crime rate. He could only recall one incident in which a student was involved in a crime on the T, and that was at Copley Square.

“The attacks are typically not random,” said Varior.

Still, Northeastern students tend to avoid Ruggles station and choose the green line.
“I do not feel as comfortable traveling alone on the Orange Line, especially at night, and less comfortable waiting alone at most of their train stations,” said Mary Avila, who graduated in 2009.

Northeastern’s public safety division provides students who feel uncomfortable around campus with an escort service from dusk until dawn. They also provide a shuttle that runs hourly between dusk and dawn, which picks up off-campus students at a designated location and drives them home.

“I have had friends who frequently made use of the shuttle to get back from the library to the Davenport residence halls as well, as they did not feel safe crossing through the garage or Ruggles past midnight,” Avila said.

Though some students are safety conscious, others still choose to walk 2 miles at 2 a.m., intoxicated and unaware, to save money on a cab. These are the crimes of opportunity Varior worries about.

“Use street smarts,” he says. “Travel in groups and don’t let your guard down.”

Ruggles ranks third in stations with the highest crime rate. Downtown Crossing is second, reporting 64 crimes, or 15 percent of total Orange Line crimes. Forest Hills station ranks No. 1 with 95 crimes, or 22 percent of crime on the Orange Line.

Clergy Members Gain Trust; Crime Rates Drop

By Megan Donovan



ROXBURY-- Reverend Bruce Wall of Global Ministries Christian Church uses his two cable TV shows and numerous radio shows to raise money to fight crime. Rufus Faulk, the gang mediation coordinator for the Christian based TenPoint Coalition, employs workers within the community to meet with youth to prevent gang activity.

From 2006 to 2009, violent crime rates in the Roxbury and Dorchester areas has decreased by 22%. Some have attributed the decrease to influence from the clergy who have used their presence to create programs that focus on educating the youth about the destructiveness of gang violence.

“The black churches have great credibility and visibility within the community,” said David Trueblood, spokesman for the Boston Foundation, which sponsors programs to reduce youth violence. “They make good partners because they have a history within the community.”

The Boston Foundation is a main donor to StreetSafe, a program that deploys street workers into the community to create relationships with at-risk youth aged 16-24. StreetSafe has offices within different community centers throughout the South End, Roxbury and Dorchester. It partners with non-religious based organizations, such as the Yawkey Club of Roxbury, as well as the Black Ministerial Alliance and TenPoint Coalition for street worker hiring and training. Street Safe attributes some of its success to clergy members that run these contributing foundations.

The decrease in violent crimes, which include homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, combined with an unstable economy, has meant cuts to grants that support these youth programs.

“We’ve seen a lull in street violence and a decrease in resources,” Faulk said. “People become complacent.”

While the TenPoint Coalition has seen cuts to grants, such as the Shannon grant, it receive from other foundations, Global Ministries has taken a self-reliant approach to finance its Stop the Violence campaign. It raises money through advertising on cable and radio shows.

“I don’t want to compete for money with other members of the clergy,” Wall said. “It becomes counterproductive to crime reduction.”

Still, some question whether the anti-gang message is compromised by the religious message. The Boston Police Department has formed partnerships with several organizations, including the Youth Service Providers Network, as a way to prevent crime without mixing with the church.

The Youth Service Providers Network office is also located in the Yawkey Club of Roxbury and its partnership brought in new members. Liz Skinner, a Northeastern student and volunteer coordinator at the club, said the network recommended the 7-year-old brother of a gang member join.

“He was allowed to skip the waitlist in this case,” Skinner said.

Others say too much police involvement with youth programs deters resolutions and prevents trust from building between street workers and gang members.

“You have to learn how to do things without the police because they aren’t going to be around 24/7,” Wall said. “They usually aren’t preventative. They show up after the fact.”

For some, trust is what makes the church more effective than police in crime reduction.

“I’d trust a member of the church community over a police officer because they’re more focused on ridding the streets of violence rather than what their next paycheck is going to look like,” said Kyle Rosa, 19, a native Roxbury resident.