Massachusetts
Massachusetts immigrant support group ‘very sad’ over hate and ‘misinformation’: ‘These people are incredible’
A local immigrant support group that helps house newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers is pushing back against the hate and “misinformation,” as volunteers offer to open up their homes to migrants.
There has been a flood of negative and hateful social media posts in reaction to the Immigrant Support Alliance’s event on Monday — during which the Melrose-area volunteers let people know what it’s like to be a host home for a newly arrived immigrant.
Some of those hateful posts about the information session included incorrect references to housing “illegal immigrants.”
“This is the temperature right now, and it’s sad. It’s sad,” said Rabbi Jessica Lowenthal of Melrose’s Temple Beth Shalom, where the information session was being held on Monday.
“A lot of misinformation is out there,” Lowenthal added. “A lot of people think these are just people coming in undocumented, and they have a lot of feelings about it. They (the migrants) are incredibly vetted by the U.S. through asylum and immigrant channels.”
Paul Belfanti, president of the Immigrant Support Alliance, also said he was “very sad” when he saw those hateful reactions to the event, which was called “Exploring the Host Home Experience.”
“They’re clearly so misinformed,” Belfanti said, later adding, “I’m sure the people who are spewing this bile have never spent time with a newly arrived immigrant. These people are incredible and so resilient and hard-working. They’ve been through so much.”
The Immigrant Support Alliance partners with resettlement agencies to provide food, housing, financial and social support to newly arrived migrants. It takes several months for the migrants to get work authorizations, so they need help in the meantime.
The volunteers will help the migrants with housing, transportation to a medical appointment or the grocery store, practicing English with them, or teaching them computer skills. The housing commitment is typically for three months.
“We’re just one drop in an enormous bucket,” Belfanti said.
“As soon as they can start working, any financial support starts to diminish over time until they become financially independent, and they can be on their own,” he added.
The information session on Monday included volunteers who have served as hosts to both individuals and families. About 30 people showed up.
“It went really well,” Belfanti said. “A few people said they were genuinely interested in hosting.
“There are a lot of people out there who want to do something,” he added. “They genuinely want to help.”
Immigrant support groups like these have been around for several years.
Last year amid a growing shelter and migrant crisis, state officials asked Bay State residents to house immigrant families. Elon Musk last week indirectly criticized Gov. Maura Healey’s handling of immigration, saying “now they want your homes too” in a repost of an August news story on the administration’s efforts to find more housing for homeless families.
“They’ve run out of hotel rooms, are kicking kids out of school for illegal housing and now they want your homes too,” Musk said in a social media post.
Massachusetts is not removing students from school to create more shelter space nor are migrants living in state-run shelters considered illegal, as they have been lawfully allowed into the United States by the federal government.
Nancy Lane/Boston Herald Migrants get screened and services at the migrant work authorization clinic at Camp Curtis Guild in Reading. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Massachusetts
A magical holiday village is tucked inside Massachusetts’ most famous candle store
Yankee Candle is a staple in the Bay State, famous for its colorful jars full of fragrance and warm light.
And while its candles can essentially be bought from anywhere, the mothership of the iconic candles lies in South Deerfield at Yankee Candle Village.
The flagship store, known for its ginormous collection of Yankee Candle scents and retail goods, is a winter holiday destination for those in New England.
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Leading up to Christmas, the store turns into a complete holiday stop.
Now on prominent display are the brand’s many different winter scents, including such classics as Red Apple Wreath and Balsam & Cedar, and such holiday scents as Christmas Cookie and North Pole Greetings.
Bavarian Christmas Village, arguably the most festive room in Yankee Candle Village, is Christmas all year. Guests will stroll through an enchanted forest featuring a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree, nutcrackers, winter village displays and even indoor snow that falls every 4 minutes.
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But scattered throughout the flagship store are hints of Christmas and a winter wonderland — from the home section filled with holiday kitchen decor to the Toy Shop filled with jolly trinkets.
Santa even pays a visit to the Yankee Candle Village, hosting a storytime with kids every Monday through Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
And if the shopping and holiday joy become overwhelming, the store even has cafes that offer a bite to eat. Guests can also indulge in sweet treats in its candy store or try freshly made fudge.
Yankee Candle Village is located at 25 Greenfield Road in South Deerfield. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Massachusetts
Two stranded dolphins rescued from Massachusetts marsh
It swims in the family.
A mother and calf wandered off the beaten path and got stranded in a Massachusetts marsh, forcing an emergency mammal rescue crew to save the wayward dolphin pair.
On Dec. 8, the Wareham Department of Natural Resources responded to a report of two stranded dolphins in the area of Beaverdam Creek off of the Weweantic River, a 17-mile tributary that drains into Buzzards Bay, which directly connects to the Atlantic Ocean.
When crews arrived, two common dolphins were located alive and active, but partially out of the water stranded in the marsh, according to the Wareham Department of Natural Resources.
Responding authorities alerted the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Marine Mammal Stranding Response Team, based in Cape Cod.
IFAW team members put the dolphins on stretchers and brought them to safety, where they conducted preliminary tests on the wayward dolphins.
“Our teams were easily able to extract the animals and transport them via our custom-built rescue vehicle,” Stacey Hedman, senior director of communications for IFAW, said.
The dolphins were weighed; the smaller of the two weighed approximately 90 lbs, and the larger mammal around 150 lbs.
Upon further analysis, it was revealed that the dolphins were an adult female and a socially-dependent juvenile female, a mother and calf pair.
According to Hedman, IFAW had some concerns over the mother’s decreased responsiveness and abnormal blood work, though it was deemed the pair was healthy enough to release back into the ocean at West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Mass.
“By releasing them into an area with many other dolphins around, this would hopefully increase their chances of socialization and survival. Both animals have satellite tags that are still successfully tracking,” Hedman said.
Massachusetts
Man seriously injured after being thrown from moving vehicle during domestic dispute
A 19-year-old Massachusetts man was seriously injured after he was thrown from a moving vehicle he had grabbed onto during a domestic dispute Thursday morning.
Duxbury police said they responded to a report of an injured male who might have been struck by a vehicle on Chandler Street around 5:22 a.m. and found a 19-year-old Pembroke man lying in the roadway with serious injuries.
Through interviews with witnesses, officers learned that the man had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Chandler Street to confront her current boyfriend. An altercation ensued, during which police said the 19-year-old appears to have jumped on the hood of a vehicle and was then thrown from the moving vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation, police said. At this time, they said no charges have been filed.
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