Police in Malden, Massachusetts, are asking for the public’s help to find a missing man.
Authorities said Wednesday that 63-year-old Ian Umansky of Malden was last seen Friday in the Malden Center area.
Umansky is described as being a 5…
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SUV crashes into gas pump in Roslindale, leading to fire
A gas pump burst into flames Tuesday after being hit by a vehicle in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood.
The crash happened at Alfa Auto Fuel on Washington Street.
Boston police say the driver of the SUV thought she put it in park, but accel…
Charity organizations say more donations are needed to help children in poverty
Many organizations across Massachusetts are in need of assistance, and one nonprofit in the Merrimack Valley says donations are depleting as a result of the rise in child poverty, homelessness and the arrivals of migrants to the region.
For almost 15 years, Catie’s Closet has helped 90,000 low-income students in schools all over Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
“Catie’s Closet was created to solve a major problem and a barrier to education and that is access to clothing and basic necessities,” said CEO Mickey Cockrell.
She added that the organization’s SOS Urgent Response Program is experiencing unprecedented increase in special requests, especially since Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency last August amid the influx of migrants seeking shelter.
“Probably at the beginning of 2023, we were supporting around 50 to 100 kids in a month, and now, it would be more like weekly,” Cockrell said.
At one moment, Catie’s Closet had more than 1,000 children on the SOS Urgent Response waitlist and was unable to fill orders due to lack of funding.
“It’s tough to close your eyes at night knowing that there might be a child in need who is just wondering why they got the short end of the straw,” she said.
More on the migrant crisis in Massachusetts
The International Institute of New England says it has recently served around 3,000 migrants.
“Specifically making sure all those clients are connected with public cash assistance, food stamps, TFDC,” said Caroline Rowe, managing director of IINE’s Lowell site.
She says organizations like Catie’s Closet are essential for the families she works with, especially since migrants are only getting around $530 a month.
“We cannot do refugee resettlement without a community and a network of organizations and other nonprofits, the schools, the health centers,” Rowe said.
The hope is to deliver special packages to the schools that requested them within 48 hours. Inside the customized bags, kids will find up to two weeks of clothing and other basic essentials.
Catie’s Closet says the best way to help is by donating on its website.
Healey nominates former partner Gabrielle Wolohojian for open SJC seat
Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday nominated Appeals Court Judge Gabrielle Wolohojian to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Judicial Court, elevating to the state’s highest court a longtime appellate judge who is also the governor’s former domest…
Man convicted of murder in 2019 Revere rush hour shooting
A man was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday in a car-to-car shooting that left a man dead in Revere, Massachusetts, in the summer of 2019, prosecutors said.
Nelio Barbosa was shot in the neck while driving down North Shore Road near the Wo…
Man seen on video crashing stolen truck before fleeing last month, Bellingham police say
Police say a man stole a truck and crashed it last month in Bellingham, Massachusetts, fleeing before being arrested in Rhode Island.
A 23-year-old Ashland man whose name is being withheld was allegedly on drugs at the time of the incident on Jan. …
