Connect with us

Massachusetts

More than haircuts: Inside Massachusetts’ first statewide program aimed at giving detained youths job skills – The Boston Globe

Published

on

More than haircuts: Inside Massachusetts’ first statewide program aimed at giving detained youths job skills – The Boston Globe


Skill Up is the first standardized vocational program across all five regions in the DYS system, which serves 12-to 21-year-olds for offenses ranging from trespassing to manslaughter. Previously, young people could get silk-screening, culinary, and carpentry training in a few DYS facilities, but no formal training available to everyone. Now there is a $5.2 million budget and 23 programs across the state, including music production, bicycle repair, and horticulture. Participants earn $15 an hour for up to nine hours of skills training a week – money that’s released when they are.

The job skills and money are important, but the less tangible benefits they gain from the instructors, who also serve as mentors, are just as essential, DYS officials and participants said.

Advertisement

“It wasn’t just haircuts,” said Jamari, 18. “It was getting to know me, wanting to know what I wanted to do with myself, even after.”

“It makes me forget that I’m doing time,” he added. “It makes me feel like I’m just at a barbershop and I’m chopping it up with my friends and my family members.”

The Globe is not fully identifying the youths in state custody, whose criminal records are not public, to avoid having a negative influence on their future prospects.

A number of Skill Up instructors statewide were committed to juvenile treatment facilities in the past, sometimes in the same facilities where they teach, and this shared experience helps build relationships with the young men in the program. The providers also live in the cities where these youths will be released, helping create community bonds that many of them lacked before, said Cecely Reardon, the DYS commissioner, a former public defender.

Massachusetts Department of Youth Services Commissioner Cecely Reardon visited the Roslindale program recently.Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Bikes not Bombs, the Boston nonprofit that runs the bicycle repair program, lets participants keep the bikes they fix and gives them the chance to apprentice for the nonprofit when they get out. Those in the silk-screening program designed and produced T-shirts for the Big E fair in Springfield last year.

Advertisement

Until recently, youth rehabilitation was focused mainly on education, Reardon said, but it was missing those who weren’t on an academic path.

“They leave here with something no one can ever take away from them,” Reardon said. “If we can help a young person be successful, that’s in the name of public safety.”

Completing vocational, educational, and other risk-reduction programs can reduce recidivism rates by more than half in some cases, according to a recent report by the Massachusetts Department of Correction.

Statewide, approximately 500 young people are in the DYS system, including those awaiting trial and those in treatment units such as the Connelly Center. Some have been released but voluntarily continue to receive services. In all, Skill Up has provided vocational training to more than 430 youths.

Adrian Major, who runs the DreamCutz barbershop with his wife, Alexis, as part of their Dreamcatcher Initiative nonprofit in Dorchester, said barbershops are an ideal training ground because of the therapeutic aspects to getting a hair cut or shave.

Advertisement

The hot towel on your face, the smell of aftershave, the conversation with a barber – all of this can turn a bad day into a good one, Major said.

“It can change a whole dynamic,” he said. “Anything that helps enhance your image makes you really feel better.”

Teens participating in the DreamCutz program practice skills on mannequin heads. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

And learning how to provide this service makes students feel good, too.

Major has seen young men progress, from something as small as admitting “my fault” when something goes wrong to opening up about their hopes and dreams. Even just improving their mood over the course of a few hours is a win, he said.

In addition to vocational skills, trainees learn about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, public speaking, and different aspects of employment such as performance reviews. Using proper language is a must in the barbershop: If they swear, they’re expected to do 15 push-ups — and often do so without being asked.

If they act out on the unit, they may stop getting temporarily but are still allowed to participate in the program. And the money has been a great motivator.

Advertisement

One trainee was recently involved in a misunderstanding with another resident, which in the past might have turned violent, according to DYS. But the Skill Up participant walked away, and later said he did so because he didn’t want to lose his program privileges.

Overall, morale has improved since the vocational program began, staffers said.

When people are about to leave DYS custody, career navigators help them open bank accounts and find jobs. Over the past few years, roughly 200 former Skill Up participants now out in the community have found full-time employment, officials said. One who learned carpentry skills and got his OSHA certification in treatment now works at Home Depot. Another who learned to silk-screen bought a $600 Cricut machine with his Skill Up earnings and opened an online Etsy business.

The music studio in the Judge John J. Connelly Youth Center where youths can learn music production career skills.Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

For Dante, who grew up in East Boston and was in juvenile treatment facilities from age 16 to 21, the instructors were like big brothers. Dante was released almost a year ago and still has a call with a Dreamcatchers mentor every Friday.

“We could talk to them about whatever, like therapy,” he said. “You see that they come from the same place as you and they’re doing well.”

Reentry “beats down on you,” Dante said, but things have been looking up lately. He recently landed a job as a delivery driver and does dog grooming on the side, with help from the starter kit of clippers, scissors, and combs he got from the program. In fact, it was Adrian Major who first noticed the haircut Dante gave his standard poodle and encouraged him to branch out.

Advertisement

“We create pathways,” said Alexis Major. “It’s about confidence, dignity that they build and they gain.”

Jaaco, 19, has done several Skill Up programs and is currently part of the barbershop crew in Roslindale. Demonstrating his skills on a recent day, he donned a black apron and placed a mannequin head on a tripod. In a matter of seconds, he removed all its hair – called “balding” – with a pair of clippers, using confident back-to-front strokes.

Jaaco has learned patience, respect, and unity through the vocational programs, he said, and his time in the Connelly Center has been instrumental: “This unit has formed me into becoming a better person.”

This story was produced by the Globe’s Money, Power, Inequality team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter here.


Katie Johnston can be reached at katie.johnston@globe.com. Follow her @ktkjohnston.

Advertisement





Source link

Massachusetts

Massachusetts bakery that made signature pizza trays for more than 100 years closes for good

Published

on

Massachusetts bakery that made signature pizza trays for more than 100 years closes for good



A Framingham institution that has been in business for more than a century closed its doors for the final time on Sunday.

Advertisement

Framingham Baking Company, known for its signature pizza trays, has officially shut down permanently. Crowds have been lining up around the block in the shop’s final days, with Sunday serving as their last day in business.

“That’s a wrap! Special thanks to all of our loyal customers! It was a great run. We love you!” Framingham Baking Company posted on Facebook Sunday after selling its final slices of pizza.

Founded in 1917, the bakery on Waverly Street became known for the square pizza slices.

The third-generation owners say they couldn’t find anyone to take over the business.

“We’re closing today after 109 years in business,” owner Joan Thomas said. “My grandparents, my parents, and my siblings – three generations have run this bakery.”

Advertisement

Customers explained why they were willing to wait in long lines to get their hands on some treats one more time.

“So many years of eating this pizza, and the bread, and the cookies. You had to be there for the end,” one woman said.

“My grandfather was a delivery guy for a long time. My first job was riding around with him in the van delivering to all the local restaurants. It’s tough to see it close, but it’s had an amazing run. Here for my last delivery. Bring some pizza home to my family,” another man added.

One customer waiting in line said it wasn’t just pizza the Framingham Baking Company provided, it was memories.

“Brought it to the cousins’ every birthday party, every gathering. Any time there was family there was pizza,” he said. 

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Massachusetts

Massachusetts’ middle-class income range is highest in US., topping out at over $200K

Published

on

Massachusetts’ middle-class income range is highest in US., topping out at over 0K


play

Your household can earn more than $200,000 a year and still be considered part of the “middle class” in Massachusetts, according to a recent study by SmartAsset.

Massachusetts ranks as the top state with the highest income range for households to be considered middle class, based on SmartAsset’s analysis using 2024 income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households earning roughly two-thirds to twice the national median household income.

Advertisement

According to a 2022 Gallup survey, about half of U.S. adults consider themselves middle class, with 38% identifying as “middle class” and 14% as “upper-middle class.” Higher-income Americans and college graduates were most likely to identify with the “middle class” or “upper-middle class,” while lower-income Americans and those without a college education generally identified as “working class” or “lower class.”

Here’s how much money your household would need to bring in annually to be considered middle class in Massachusetts.

How much money would you need to make to be considered middle class in MA?

In Massachusetts, households would need to earn between $69,900 and $209,656 annually to be considered middle class, according to SmartAsset. The Bay State has the highest income range in the country for middle-class households. The state’s median household income is $104,828.

In Boston, the range is slightly lower. Households need to earn between $65,194 and $195,582 annually to qualify as middle class, giving the city the 19th-highest income range among the 100 largest U.S. cities. Boston’s median household income is $97,791.

Advertisement

How do other New England states compare?

Massachusetts has the highest income range for middle-class households in New England. Here’s what households would have to earn in neighboring states:

  1. Massachusetts (#1 nationally) – $69,885 to $209,656 annually; median household income of $104,828
  2. New Hampshire (#6 nationally) – $66,521 to $199,564 annually; median household income of $99,782
  3. Connecticut (#10 nationally) – $64,033 to $192,098 annually; median household income of $96,049
  4. Rhode Island (#17 nationally) – $55,669 to $167,008 annually; median household income of $83,504
  5. Vermont (#19 nationally) – $55,153 to $165,460 annually; median household income of $82,730
  6. Maine (#30 nationally) – $50,961 to $152,884 annually; median household income of $76,442

Which state has the lowest middle-class income range?

Mississippi ranks last for the income range needed to be considered middle class, according to SmartAsset. Households there would need to earn between $39,418 and $118,254 annually. The state’s median household income is $59,127.



Source link

Continue Reading

Massachusetts

‘No Kings’ protests draw thousands against the Trump administration who are ‘fed up, pissed off, and also hopeful’ – The Boston Globe

Published

on

‘No Kings’ protests draw thousands against the Trump administration who are ‘fed up, pissed off, and also hopeful’ – The Boston Globe


Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey altered the lyrics of some songs to criticize Trump and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Let’s ship them out of Boston,” he told the crowd, referring to ICE agents and echoing lyrics from “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.” “Are you with us?”

Pressley followed, telling demonstrators the “world is on fire.”

“It is going to take every single one of us doing everything we can to put this fascist, white nationalist fire out,” Pressley said. “The only way to beat a dictator is with defiance.”

Advertisement
Some of the faces in the crowd at the “No Kings” protest on Boston Common.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
The Dropkick Murphys perform during the protest.Finn Gomez for the Boston Globe

The flagship national demonstration was held in Minneapolis, where US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed in January during a massive federal immigration crackdown that ended last month.

Bruce Springsteen performed “Streets of Minneapolis,” the protest song released after the killing of Pretti with lyrics describing the city as “aflame” under “King Trump’s private army.”

In Massachusetts, organizers staged 169 demonstrations, said Rahsaan D. Hall, president and chief executive of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts and emcee for the Boston Common event.

Saturday’s gatherings marked the third time protesters have mobilized under the “No Kings” banner since the first protest last June. Another round of protests took place in October.

Demonstrators gathered as the US war in Iran entered its second month with oil prices surging and Trump declaring victory is at hand even as thousands of additional American troops head to the Middle East.

Within the GOP, congressional leaders are at odds over funding the US Department of Homeland Security, which has been partially shut down since mid-February and has a new leader, Markwayne Mullin. Trump fired his predecessor, Kristi Noem, earlier this month following controversies over her leadership.

Advertisement

Mihika Gogate, 24, who recently moved to Boston from North Carolina, said she was demonstrating for “absolutely everyone in this world that is suffering at the hands of the decisions of our fascist leader at the moment.”

She carried a sign depicting a Joker playing card featuring Trump with a crown on his head.

“I think, especially now, it’s such a scary time to be an adult in this world,” Gogate said. “It’s not just something that is affecting one of us. It’s affecting all our futures and our current realities.”

Michael Payne, Jean Carroon, and Maxie Chambliss were at the “No Kings” protest on Boston Common.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
The crowd on Boston Common was reflected in the horns of the performers.Finn Gomez for the Boston Globe

In Quincy, demonstrators gathered outside City Hall were encouraged to remain politically active.

“We hate what Donald Trump is doing. I’m tired of being in a state of exhaustion, and he’s bombarding us every day,” said Donna Cunningham, 51, a Quincy resident. “We need events like this to remind ourselves that we’re not alone in our little islands of our homes.”

On Boston Common, Sara Welch filmed the bustle as she walked through the park en route to Cheers. A resident of Hastings, Minn., Welch said she’s in the area for work.

Advertisement

“It means a lot, especially with everything that went on in our state with ICE,” Welch said.

Yet some questioned whether large demonstrations are generating the changes they seek.

Warren May, a demonstrator from Watertown, said the Women’s March held the day after Trump’s first inauguration in 2017 was the last time he participated in such a large protest.

“That was really kind of great and inspiring and wonderful, but look where we are now,” May said. “It’s just gotten worse.”

John Cluverius, who teaches political science at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, said the mass demonstrations signal to elected Democrats that the opposition to Trump “is real and is tangible.” His popularity has slipped since the last “No Kings” demonstrations in October, he said.

Advertisement

“Being the party out of power has a very isolating effect on both individuals and voters — the sense that they’re out of control of the destiny of the country,” Cluverius said. “There is almost an affirming effect for people to gather in these places and get the sense that even though they’re opposed to so many things that are happening, they’re not alone.”

There are also signs that the protests are pushing elected officials to answer demonstrators’ demands, Cluverius said.

On Friday, Senate Republicans abandoned vows to resist any deal for Department of Homeland Security funding that did not include money for ICE and US Customs and Border Protection, by voting to do just that.

“Senate Democrats … did not defect in any way, and I think that speaks to the fact that these rallies were today,” Cluverius said.

Several exhibitions on Boston Common brought attention to the impact of Trump’s policies.

Advertisement

An installation called “Eyes Wide Open — The Cost of War” featured rows of shoes, backpacks, and toys symbolizing the more than 160 children killed at an Iranian school during the opening day of US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

“We hope that this will cause people to pause and consider the humanitarian impact of this war,” said Ziba Cranmer, 54, who belongs to the Massachusetts chapter of the National Iranian American Council.

An ice sculpture reading “END ICE” was carved by artist Kat Carves.

“It’s a very powerful message,” said Lisa Mahoney, 66, of Beverly.

Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, according to YouGov polling on behalf of The Economist, which found this month that his net approval rating is at -18 percentage points.

Advertisement

His deportation agenda, attacks on higher education, and efforts to nationalize elections are deeply unpopular in Massachusetts, which backed his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, in the 2024 election.

A February poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found 72 percent of Massachusetts residents disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance, driven largely by fears that he threatens democracy.

Dave Beyna, portraying George Washington, arrived at the protest on Boston Common before it started.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
Protesters sit at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the “No Kings” Boston rally.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe

Changes to the childhood vaccination schedule paused for now by a federal judge in Boston, new eligibility limits to public safety net programs under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, and research funding cuts have also drawn opposition here.

Sonya Shropshire-Friel of Dover, N.H., said her parents protested during the civil rights movement and were arrested as college students in Elizabeth City, N.C.

“I thought if they can do that, I can show up here today,” she said.

Trump’s rhetoric and the actions of his immigration enforcement agents “really make America unsafe,” Shropshire-Friel said.

Advertisement

“He has made people more inclined to be unkind and cruel toward one another,” she said. “I need to be out here with people who are also fed up, pissed off, and also hopeful.”


Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her @lauracrimaldi. Anjali Huynh can be reached at anjali.huynh@globe.com. Aayushi Datta can be reached at aayushi.datta@globe.com.





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending