Blog Post 10

As I walked around East Cambridge, I couldn't help but notice how gentrified the neighborhood was. There were many parks and public open spaces that surrounded recently built multifamily residential buildings and various labs held in mid-rise structures. Well groomed landscaping and outdoor furniture created resting points for pedestrians. The image above shows a community garden where citizens can grow their own produce. The signs state that individuals should only pick what they planted. The openness and honor system of the public garden reflect the sense of community and shared responsibility of keeping each other accountable that is presumably present in the neighborhood. Relative to Central Square, the areas that I walked around in East Cambridge appeared more affluent and the parks, public gathering spaces, and infrastructure seemed to cater to those with greater disposable income. 

I had been to Central Square a week prior when the weather wasn't as cold and remember seeing a substantial homeless population around the main street. When I went on a day where the temperature was below freezing, it was saddening to see homeless individuals out in the cold. The multifaceted issue of homelessness in Cambridge has been addressed with a myriad of initiatives by the city and its citizens. It is a problem that has existed long before the pandemic. On a single day in 2018, nearly 600 people in Cambridge were in transitional housing, emergency shelter, or sleeping on the streets. The hardship of the pandemic has exacerbated the underlying roots of homelessness and additional action is needed to compliment the already extensive support provided by the local community. 

Initiatives like public bathrooms and water stations that were implemented in previous cycles of the participatory budgeting are ideas I very much admire and help in improving the lives of the homeless. My proposal for the Cambridge Participatory Budgeting process would be to further help the homeless by offering greater financial support to groups that give food and essentials to individuals who cannot afford them. On my adventure around Cambridge it was noteworthy just how many churches there are in the city. 2 weeks ago, I volunteered at Christ Church's weekly dinner service and stand where they give out essential goods to the homeless. I stood outside and gave everything from canned foods and fresh bread to covid tests and toilet paper to the homeless. My proposal would entail scaling up this type of initiative by offering greater financial support to the great number of churches that already engage in such outreach as well as incentivizing new churches and institutions to offer similar pop up stands for people in need. In the freezing cold in Central Square, I took a picture of a van from Capuchin Ministries who were giving out food to the homeless. I observed the exchanges and it reminded me of how pleasant it was for me to speak with the homeless in an intimate setting and get to know them. My proposal would promote these intimate conversations with the homeless on the streets so that community members capable of implementing further solutions have a stronger grasp of what exactly the homeless people need.

Sources:

https://cambridgecf.org/housing-crisis-grips-cambridge/

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/9/23/combatting-cambridge-homelessness/