Pine Street Inn: The Fall 2021 Innsider

Fall 2021

Innsider

A Home at Last

News from Pine Street Inn

Upstairs in a quiet corner of the Men’s Inn shelter building, Pine Street Inn has opened seven units of permanent housing for men who have been homeless for many years and require intensive support to remain stable and housed. This is where Ernest lives. For years he struggled with substance use, causing him to lose his job and his housing.

Ernest experienced homelessness for over 27 years, staying both on the street and in shelter. During that time, he had a stroke which made everything in life more challenging for him, including an increased need for medical services.

“I moved in when they first opened up,” he says. “I love it here. I was in the shelter for so many years, I lost count.”

When the Men’s Inn units were planned, staff made a list of guests who would most benefit from living there. “I advocated for him,” says Manny Andrade, a Men’s Inn supervisor who has worked with Ernest since he started at Pine Street 25 years ago.

“I knew this would be a great place for Ernest. I remember him 15 to 20 years ago.

He was a tough guy back then. He no longer drinks and takes care of himself as Ernest in his apartment

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It takes a Community Many of us have neighbors who will pick up a carton of milk for us at the supermarket, or watch our child while we run an errand.

We may belong to a community or faith group. We have family we depend on in good times and in bad.

When you are homeless, you lose those connections to community and family. “Homelessness is a very isolating experience. When you are homeless, all the threads of your life have unraveled,” says Lyndia Downie, Pine Street’s president and executive director. “Our job is to help people knit the pieces of their lives back together,” she adds.

Whether it’s the person who greets guests when they enter one of Pine Street’s shelters…the housing navigator who guides people through their housing search…the case manager who connects tenants with job training opportunities…or provides transportation to the supermarket, these are just a few of the staff at Pine Street who support guests and tenants as they reconnect with a home and community.

“We don’t just leave tenants on their own once they move in,” says Mike Jones, residential program supervisor. “They are connected to a vast network of case

Joe with his Buddy, his support dog

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From the

President

Dear Friends, I hope you and your family are well as we move into the fall and winter months. This past year and a half has been anything but predictable, and I know we are all seeking some “normalcy” in our lives. With Covid numbers fluctuating up and down, even with readily available vaccinations, we know that we must remain vigilant and adaptable, hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.

As I write this, Pine Street guests and staff are at close to a 70% vaccination rate, and we continue to work with those who have been vaccine-resistant, hoping to convince them.

We also continue to monitor our guests with testing, and have maintained a close to zero Covid-positive rate for many months. We are still wearing masks and maintaining distance, as recommended by the Commonwealth for congregate settings What has become ever more apparent as the months have gone by is that “housing is healthcare.” When you are in shelter or on the street, you have little control over your life:

where and when you sleep or eat; how to best manage your health. Often, people wind up in emergency rooms and hospitals for ailments that could be managed if they had a safe, stable place to live – a home.

Throughout the pandemic, we have maintained, and even increased, our focus on housing.

With the generous support of our donors, our Key Moments 50th Anniversary Campaign (page 5) has reached a successful conclusion, enabling us to build, staff and maintain hundreds of new units, so more individuals can move off the street, out of shelter and into a home, reconnecting with the community and rebuilding their lives.

Perhaps one day in the not-too-distant future, Covid will no longer be a major talking point – we will have learned to manage our lives around it. Until then, my deepest thanks for your continued interest and support, as we navigate through these times.

With Gratitude,

(A Home at Last, continued from page 1)

(It Takes a Community, continued from page 1)

well as he can with help from the clinic at the Men’s Inn (run by Boston Health Care for the Homeless).”

managers, evening counselors and house managers who reside in the building to provide support 24/7.”

This new space includes a large common area equipped with everything tenants need to cook their own meals. “Sometimes I make sopa (soup), mac and cheese, rice and beans. Pine Street helps me get to the supermarket by giving me rides,” Ernest says.

For residents, the support and efforts to build community are critical to rebuilding their lives. “Housing, along with the support I’ve received from Pine Street and others over the years have made all the difference for me,” says Joe, a Pine Street tenant. “I don’t know where I would have been without them. Now, I volunteer at an animal shelter and cook meals with some of the other tenants,” he continued. “It’s like being part of a family.”

“Ernest is very grateful and appreciative of having one of the units,” Manny says, as Ernest nods in agreement.

“It’s a huge relief to know that he can stay here, be safe and have a place to call home.”

“Everybody here is great; it’s like a family,” Ernest adds.

Moving people off the street, out of shelter and into a home and community is our vision for all, reflected in the daily work at Pine Street Inn. [2]

Everyone at Pine Street works towards the same goal: ending homelessness by moving individuals off the streets, out of shelter and into housing. While there is no single path for an individual to become successfully housed, all pathways lead “home.”

From a Tenant

TJ Pine Street Tenant “I moved into my apartment in 2019. I like the neighborhood and I love having my own place. I told my mom, it’s so quiet I can hear the birds chirping. I worked hard to get here, and so many people from Pine Street helped me.”

Emergency Services

Mike Andrick Director of Street Outreach “Our team of Outreach counselors see miracles happen every day. Even though each Outreach worker has a different style and strengths, everyone is committed to moving people into housing as quickly as possible. That’s how we will eradicate street homelessness.”

Permanent Supportive Housing

Prevention

Evelyn Cordero Housing Placement Supervisor

Blake McCarthy Triage Supervisor

“Being creative and innovative in how we address barriers to housing, and having the opportunity to watch an individual turn the key to the door of their forever home makes me humble and grateful. There is no better joy then to walk alongside someone who is lifting themselves up with just a little hope, respect and dignity given.”

“What makes this work special for the Triage homelessness prevention program is watching clients develop hope and excitement. We love learning about people’s past and standing next to them as they look toward their future.

We are here to serve, but we end up getting so much more from our clients than we could ever give.”

Growing a

Community

Gardening has been a great summer activity for many of our tenants, providing a relaxing outlet and building community while they continue to practice safety measures and social distancing. Thanks to a generous grant and our committed Ripples of Hope volunteer team, our tenants enjoyed quality time outdoors, helping plant, weed and maintain gardens with the support of staff from Green City Growers, a group focused on urban farming.

“Sometimes I go outside and sit by the garden in the afternoon; it has a community feeling!” said Lisa, a Pine Street tenant, when asked how she feels about having the garden right outside her apartment.

Julie tends the garden boxes donated

by Western Carpentry

The gardens produced an abundance of tomatoes, lettuce, squash, raspberries as well as flowers, allowing tenants to add fresh ingredients to their meals on a daily basis!

Outside by their garden

Lisa enjoys to the community garden

Meet the Pine Street Boston Marathon® Team!

The Boston Marathon® will take place October 11th, 2021. We asked the Pine Street runners why they choose #TeamPineStreet.

Join us in welcoming the runners!

David Krakauer Adam Hennessey Eric Emmons “It’s an honor to run “My family has been “I’m proud to be running for Pine Street and to volunteering at to support Pine Street Inn, support their efforts to Pine Street Inn for raising funds to create improve not only the many years and I’m hundreds of new units of lives of so many people thrilled to be running supportive, sustainable, but also the spirit of this year’s Boston long-term housing for the greater Boston chronically homeless men Marathon in order to community.” raise awareness and and women in the Boston financial support of its area.” worthy mission.”

Larry Krakauer “Running enables me to support the great work of Pine Street both financially and emotionally. And my brother, David, talked me into it!”

To support Pine Street’s Boston Marathon® team, go to www.pinestreetinn.org/bostonmarathon

Erin McCall “After more than 10 years of volunteering, I wanted to find another way to spread their message.

Last year emphasized how essential Pine Street is to our community, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to be able to run in support of this amazing organization.”

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Key Moments Campaign Reaches $50 Million Goal We are thrilled and grateful to announce that Pine Street Inn’s Key Moments 50th Anniversary Campaign has exceeded its goal of $50 million. Thanks to the generosity of more than 800 individual, corporate and foundation donors, the Campaign reached a total of $50.9 million in July. The Key Moments Campaign was launched to create, preserve and sustain our permanent housing solutions for Boston’s most vulnerable individuals.

Gifts made to Key Moments were directed to three priority funding areas that build upon and support our housing work: the Innovations and Proven Solutions Fund, the Capital Investments Fund, and the Housing Sustainability Fund. As the largest campaign in Pine Street Inn’s 50-year history, it is already transforming the lives of many individuals. Our proudest achievements include:

Rendering of building in Jamaica Plain for 140 tenants

• Scaling up successful pilot programs to prevent homelessness; quickly “re-housing” those who become homeless; and helping individuals move on to more independent housing. These programs are now mainstays of our work.

• Opening several new supportive housing locations across Boston during the Campaign, including 20 new units for chronically homeless women, 50 new units for elderly men and women, and seven new units for men who need intensive support, among others.

• Developing housing to increase our units from 850 to well beyond 1,000, a key goal of the campaign.

• Making critical capital improvements to our existing housing and shelter locations.

• Partnering on the creation of large-scale housing with 140 studio units for chronically homeless adults, the most significant housing complex of its kind in Boston.

• Growing our permanent fund to support housing operations, sustaining our work in housing for years to come.

Key Moments has laid the groundwork for the future expansion of housing, and we are deeply grateful to our Campaign supporters, including donors to the Boston’s Way Home Fund, for their partnership. This remarkable milestone would not have been possible without their support.

Mayoral Forum Addresses

Issues of Homelessness and Housing

With the high cost of living in Boston, access to affordable housing is a key issue in the mayoral campaign. The Boston Coalition for Homeless Individuals, (led by presenting partners Boston Health Care for the Homeless, Pine Street Inn, Project Place and St. Francis House; with presenters Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, Newmarket Business Association, Rosie’s Place and Women’s Lunch Place), hosted the virtual forum with the candidates for Boston mayor, focused on homelessness and housing.

All candidates for mayor participated, and guests of Pine Street, along with other individuals experiencing homelessness in Boston, addressed questions to the candidates as they engaged in the political process.

Candidates for mayor of Boston discussed solutions to homelessness

Following the virtual event, Pine Street hosted a voter registration for guests and tenants, emphasizing the importance of voting in an election that will have a major impact on their lives.

If you missed the forum and would like to view it, go to www.pinestreetinn.org/mayoralforum

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Community Friends Support the Turkey Truck!

For the past 18 years, the Information Systems Team at Mass General Brigham has generously sponsored an in-kind food drive around the holidays. Last year, their support shifted to an online fundraiser for our Turkey Truck initiative, and the Mass General Brigham team raised nearly $20,000 for the cause, covering the cost of protein for almost 17,000 meals! We are so grateful to the Mass General Brigham community for their longtime support, and special thanks to Ira Keltz for leading the fundraiser year after year.

New Balance Supports Guests Our thanks to our friends at New Balance, who have continued to donate sneakers for guests during the pandemic, while also providing critical support for trainees in our job training programs.

We are grateful for the new sneakers which are always a treat for guests and are especially grateful for our 30-year partnership.

If you are interested in fundraising for the Turkey Truck, please contact Lisa Feeley at Lisa.Feeley@pinestreetinn.org or call 617.892.9199.

Pine Street staff pick up sneaker donations

Liberty Mutual Gives Back!

Ira Keltz from Mass General Brigham loads a truck of donations from his team

Dine For Pine Earlier this year, Pine Street launched “Dine for Pine,” a partnership with several area restaurants who have supported our iCater food services training program.

Promoted by The Boston Globe, campaign donors covered the cost of a meal for guests in one of our shelters, prepared by a participating restaurant.

We are starting to welcome back volunteers, with Liberty Mutual kicking off our in-person volunteer service as part of their annual service week. A longtime supporter, Liberty Mutual was a pivotal partner in our Covid response. Each fall, Liberty Mutual employees help with food production in our kitchen, and while the teams are smaller this year to ensure safe distancing, we are delighted to have them!

Thank you to the Globe, the participating restaurants below, and everyone who supported both these local restaurants and Boston’s most vulnerable men and women.

Innsider Published three times a year by the Development and External Affairs Department

Pine Street Inn 444 Harrison Avenue Boston, MA 02118 General Information: 617.892.9100 Donations: 617.892.9170 Volunteers: 617.892.9184 www.pinestreetinn.org

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