Action Alert Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 93% of tenants facing eviction from their homes did not have lawyers, while 70% of landlords had representation. While the eviction moratorium ending October 17th protects many of these tenants for the time being, it is estimated that as many as 15,000-20,000 new evictions could be filed when the moratorium ends. Unless we take action, thousands of families […]
Action Alert It’s our last chance to act! The Police Accountability Bills from the House and Senate have been sent to a six-member Conference Committee for reconciliation. We need your help to make sure the final Police Accountability Bill protects young people. Our School Resource Officer (SRO) Priorities: Adopt Sections 50 & 51 of S.2820 which require a public vote by school committees – rather than the decision […]
Action Alert The House has introduced its police accountability bill, H.4860! As the legislative session comes to a close, it is essential that we use the momentum of nationwide protests to fight for racial justice and police accountability within our schools. With your help we secured a number of provisions within the Senate police accountability bill S.2820 to limit the prevalence of […]
Action Alert The House is currently working on police reform! We need your help to secure the safety of the young people in our schools! Earlier this week after an all-night session the Senate passed S.2820, the Reform, Shift + Build Act. Now the House is evaluating its own police accountability bill. Massachusetts Appleseed has been working with […]
Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice commends the Trial Court for Emergency Administrative Order 20-10, issued on June 24th 2020, which takes effect on July 13th and temporarily eliminates bans on the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices (“PEDs”) inside all Massachusetts state courthouses. Our 2018 report, Cell Phones in the Courthouse: An Access to Justice Perspective, examined […]
Action Alert For years Massachusetts Appleseed has been working to bring an end to zero-tolerance school discipline policies, school arrests, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Amidst the wave of protests against police brutality, now is the time to demand more. Over-policing in Massachusetts schools disproportionally impacts Black and Latinx students, who are significantly more likely to be arrested at […]
Action Alert Amid record levels of unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of Massachusetts residents are struggling to pay rent and afford basic necessities. The statewide eviction moratorium prevents anyone from being forced out of their home for now, but if the Governor does not extend the moratorium, that protection could end on August […]
America is hurting. The unjust murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others have sparked a national movement to hold our leaders accountable for the insidious racial inequality that penetrates both consciously and unconsciously throughout American society. People across the nation are fighting to overcome generations of pain caused by white supremacy, […]
Here we are again, joining others throughout the world in grief, outrage, and, perhaps most perniciously, recognition over the tragic extrajudicial killing of yet another Black person, George Floyd. This, as we continue to mourn for the unjust losses of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people who have died needlessly at the […]
When Kathy McGrath, the pro bono manager for Liberty Mutual’s legal department, heard about the Homeless Youth Handbook project, she immediately knew she would easily find willing volunteers. And she soon had 25 people signed up to help make a Massachusetts version of the Homeless Youth Handbook that the Baker McKenzie law firm had spearheaded […]