Bay State Banner, December 2024
In 2024, national and statewide issues had major implications for Boston neighborhoods like Roxbury and Dorchester, where immigration and proposed construction projects were hot-button issues. The year was also filled with civil rights anniversaries, and as Boston reckoned with its past, the city, alongside the country, wrestled with how to move forward.
In fall 2023, Gov. Maura Healey announced that family shelters across Massachusetts had reached capacity. By January 2024, left with no options, migrant families, many of them Haitian, had taken to sleeping on the floor of the arrivals terminal at Logan Airport. So, when plans to use the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury to shelter migrant and homeless families emerged, community members and sports coaches juggled a mix of sympathizing with the families and feeling disappointed over the state’s lack of communication, with some saying the shelter was an example of Boston’s Black community shouldering the state and city’s burden yet again and losing out on necessary resources.
Still, neighbors and community leaders rallied to support the families. Bethel AME Church in Jamaica Plain opened its doors to some recently arrived Haitian families, offering shelter in its rectory. The church’s Migrant Neighbor Initiative provided living space, job support, and educational services to families seeking to make a new life in Boston, as the state, which has a “Right to Shelter” law, struggled to keep up with demand.
