Fall 2020
Innsider News from Pine Street Inn
A ‘Bridge’ to Housing
Pine Street Inn has moved 180 residents out of a temporary shelter at a Suffolk University dormitory and into a building at 891 Massachusetts in Boston, to align with the CDC’s social distancing recommendations, helping ensure the continued safety and well-being of our guests. In the spring, Pine Street worked with the Boston Public Health Commission and City of Boston to move men and women from our main shelter into temporary housing at a Suffolk University dorm to reduce congestion and increase social distancing. These efforts have made an overwhelming difference, resulting in a current under 1 percent positive COVID-19 rate among our guests, in contrast to 36 percent earlier in the pandemic.
Bedroom at 891 Massachusetts Avenue
The dorm was a short-term solution, and following an intensive search to secure longer-term accommodations, Pine Street leased space at 891 Massachusetts Avenue as a “bridge” to permanent housing. Each of the building’s 90 rooms will house two guests, primarily frail and vulnerable men and women with underlying medical conditions. (Continued on page 2)
Mother and Daughter
Share Their Gratitude Ancilla, 67, and her mother, Mary, 86, are two of the guests who have moved into the 891 Massachusetts Avenue building. They are relieved and grateful for the space, quiet and social distancing that is possible in the suite they share. Each room has a bed, a desk and a bureau. “My mother is right next door to me,” says Ancilla, “and we’re able to have a mini-fridge for her medications. It’s very comfortable here.” They once owned a home in Revere, but after Ancilla had multiple
surgeries on her legs and knees, she could no longer work in security at the airport and their house was eventually foreclosed. Mary is blind in one eye and losing her sight in the other, and has additional medical issues. They have been homeless for two years. On an afternoon shortly after moving in, Mary was working on a puzzle after Ancilla returned from a doctor’s visit. “I like to keep busy,” says Ancilla, explaining that she reads, does craft projects and sings with her mother most mornings.
Ancilla and her mother, Mary, in their room
“I pray for housing every day.” The space at 891 Massachusetts Avenue has made an impact across all of Pine Street Inn’s shelters. Thanks to this new location, our four shelters are less crowded and able to comply with (Continued on page 2)