by Kate Layzer
The march was called to protest new restrictive eligibility requirements for family shelter. According to activists, nearly 70 percent of homeless families who apply for shelter are denied, and many are forced to stay in unsafe conditions. The plan was to deliver a symbolic 51-A form to DHCD—in other words, to report them for child abuse, for denying children emergency shelter. About 150 of us gathered at the State House at noon and marched the short distance to the Department of Housing and Community Development on Cambridge St. We had a police escort, as usual. The march was very peaceful. There were no incidents.
