Mental Illness, Homelessness, and the Struggle for Care on Boston’s Streets: An Evening with Dr. Jim O’Connell (Main)
What happens when mental illness meets homelessness and there’s nowhere to turn? What does healthcare look like when you’re sleeping outside, alone, and invisible?
Join NAMI Cambridge/Middlesex and the Cambridge Public Library for an unflinching look at healthcare on the margins as Dr. Jim O’Connell, founding physician and President of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) shares stories, insights, and hard truths from a lifetime spent caring for patients—not in pristine clinics but in shelters, on sidewalks, and under bridges.
Moderated by Dr. Rich Parker, this one-night event will explore the barriers so many in our community face when mental illness goes untreated, housing is out of reach, and support feels out of sight. Cosponsored by Cambridge Public Library.
Registration is required.
Summer Food Program Served 80,000+ Meals to Cambridge Youth
The Cambridge Summer Food Program ensures that youth ages 18 and younger have access to free, nutritious meals while school is out of session. In 2024, the program served over 80,000 meals at parks, sports leagues, summer camps, and community events across the city. Beyond meals, the program offers recreational activities and literacy support, including weekly visits from the Cambridge Book Bike, making summer a time for both nourishment and enrichment.
Cambridge Police Department Assists in Federal Sex Trafficking Investigation
A Cambridge Police Department (CPD) detective assigned to a federal task force was instrumental in a federal investigation that led to an arrest in a sex trafficking case involving multiple states. The suspect, a Lowell man, was arrested on Friday, December 13, 2024, and charged with sex trafficking a victim in Massachusetts, Nevada, Rhode Island, and New York.