Department of Children and Families cannot find beds for some of the children in their system
The opioid crisis has thoroughly overwhelmed Massachusetts’ overburdened and outdated foster care system, making it so that children in the system may not always have a place to sleep, and may have to be moved multiple times. Massachusetts has one of the worst systems for finding stable placements for children, with around 30 percent of children being moved three or more times in their first year in the system. There is a critical shortage of the number of foster homes and so many children have to be placed in an emergency home for a night or two, if one is even available. While there is normally a limit of four children per foster home, exceptions to this have been growing to accommodate the growing number of children removed from their family. This frequency of moving is incredibly destabilizing to already vulnerable children, but the state has no immediate solutions, and is encouraging more people to become foster parents.
Wellesley High School students stage walk–out to highlight racial issues
Last Tuesday, about 300 Wellesley High School students of color and their allies walked out of the high school and marched to the football field during lunch. At the football field, they shared stories and discussed ways to make change. The walkout was organized by the group Young Ethnic Scholars (YES), which is itself an amalgam of different organizations within the school. The specific event that triggered the event was an anonymous, racially charged email sent to an African American teacher, but racial equality has long been a problem for Wellesley High School. Another issue has been the locking of the METCO room, a safe space for students. YES also set out a list of demands, asking for, among other things, the hiring of more teachers of color and equity coaches.
The Opioid Project is coming to Newton Wellesley Hospital
The Opioid Project is a multimedia art project that tells the stories of those who have died from opioids or whose lives have been otherwise affected by the drugs. The project travels and works with local community partners to bring more awareness about the issue by sharing human stories. Until April 26, an interactive exhibit will be at Newton Wellesley Hospital. The work is on display in the east entrance corridor and visitors are encouraged to bring phones and headphones to fully experience the installment. The stories were put together by opioid support group SOAR Natick.
Body of missing Wentworth student found in Roxbury
Maximillian Carbone was last seen at a party in Mission Hill Saturday morning around 1:00 am or 2:00 am. A frantic search by friends, family and the local community then ensued for the sophomore at Wentworth who was planning to study biomedical engineering. The search tragically ended when his body was found Sunday morning outside the Diablo Glass School. Right now the police do not suspect foul play. Carbone was a native of Swampscott, Massachusetts and graduated from Swampscott High School in 2017. A memorial was held Monday at noon on Wentworth’s campus.
