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WHDH-TV
March 9, 2010
Single parents face high cost of living

“BOSTON — A new study has revealed the high cost of living for single parents in Massachusetts.

According to the Crittenton Women’s Union, a single parent with two children needs to make roughly $62,000 a year to survive without public assistance in Massachusetts.

The report listed only 11 jobs that require no more than two years of college education to generate that kind of money.”…
Read the full article and watch the video.

WBZ NEWS RADIO - KELLER AT LARGE
March 9, 2010
WBZ's Jon Keller talks about a recent cost of living survey for families in Massachusetts


View Full Clip | More


SINGLE PARENT GOSSIP
March 9, 2010
In Massachusetts, You Will Need About $60K Just To Get By

“As a single parent, how much money do you need to make to be able to cover your expenses all by yourself, without public aid? It turns out that it is quite a bit, at least in Massachusetts. The Crittenton Women’s Union (CWU), a Boston-based nonprofit group, said that you will need to make somewhere around $30 per hour and hold a full-time job, just to get by.”…
Read the full blog entry.

CAPE COD TIMES
March 9, 2010
Study: Single Parent of Two Needs $58k on Cape

“A single parent with two children living on Cape Cod would need to have an annual income of $58,012 — $27.89 an hour at a full time job — just to meet the family's basic needs, according to an analysis released yesterday by the Crittenton Women's Union, a Boston-based nonprofit group.”…
Read the full article.

NASHOBA PUBLISHING
March 9, 2010
Many not making it in Middlesex
County 2nd worst in state for single parents

“In Middlesex County, it takes nearly $68,000 for a single parent of two "just to get by," according to a new report.

That puts Middlesex second among the state's counties, just behind Norfolk County ($68,021), and more than $6,000 above the $61,618 state average, according to the nonprofit, Boston-based Crittenton Women's Union.”…
Read the full article.

CHRIS BROGAN
March 8, 2010
Single Parents Aren’t Earning Enough

“I just read a study produced by the Crittenton Women’s Union that shows that a single parent in Massachusetts needs approximately $68,000 a year to raise a toddler and a school-age kid. (Hat tip WBUR Morning Edition). Most single parents (primarily women) aren’t earning even half that in Massachusetts. It’s a tough challenge, and also hard to understand how to help.”…
Read the full blog entry.

NEW ENGLAND CABLE NEWS
March 8, 2010
Study sheds new light on needs of single moms living in Boston

“(NECN: Alysha Palumbo, Boston, Mass.) — Michelle Feliz works a full time job as a program coordinator of the English Masters program at U-Mass Boston.

But she still needs assistance from the state to help cover the costs of child care and housing for her and her two children.”…
Read the full article and watch the video.

WBZ NEWS RADIO
March 8, 2010
Report: Vacant jobs out of reach to many seeking work

“Boston (State House News Service) — As unemployment hovers at near-record levels, jobless and low-wage-earning Massachusetts residents are often unqualified for thousands of vacant jobs, according to a new report.

Although there are more than 50,000 job vacancies in Massachusetts, nearly half of the state’s 3.2 million-person workforce lacks the necessary education to fill them, according to the Crittenton Women’s Unions 'Hot Jobs 2010' report, released Monday at the State House.”…
Read the full article.

WBZ-TV
March 8, 2010
Cost Of Living In Massachusetts Revealed

“BOSTON (WBZ) ― Michelle Feliz is a single mother of two, who works full time as an administrative assistant at UMass Boston.

'I am a working parent, I've always worked, I went to college, two year degree, but in this economy it's not enough,' said Feliz.

Not if she wants to make it on her own.

A new survey by the Crittenton Women's Union shows what self sufficiency costs.”…
Read the full article.
Watch the video.

THE EMILY ROONEY SHOW
March 8, 2010

 

WCVB-TV
March 8, 2010
Real Cost Of Living In Bay State Revealed
Group Releases List Of Hot Jobs For 2010

“BOSTON — New numbers show how expensive it is to live in Massachusetts—especially for residents with children.

A new study found that for a single parent with two kids needs about $62,000 to make ends meet in some towns.

Ezra Sandy, a nurse's aide, picked the right profession. Registered nurses are the hottest jobs in Massachusetts for 2010. There are nearly 2,500 vacancies—according to the Crittenton Women's Union.”…
Read the full article and watch the video.

WBUR
March 8, 2010
Study: Single Parents In Mass. Don’t Earn Enough

“BOSTON — A new study out Monday says a single parent with two kids needs $62,000 a year just to get by in Massachusetts.

But for two single mothers we spoke to recently, that number seems far off.

'That’s double my salary almost,' said Michelle Feliz, raising her eyebrows. 'And I’m like, ‘Wow, I have a long way to go. How am I going to get there?’ ' Feliz works full-time as an administrative assistant at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, while raising a five-month-old son and 13-year-old daughter in one of Boston’s oldest housing projects.”…
Read the full article and listen to the podcast.

BOSTON HERALD
March 8, 2010
Study: As incomes fall, costs go up

“A single parent of two needs an income of nearly $62,000 in Massachusetts just to get by, according to a new study.

The 2010 Massachusetts Economic Independence Index by the Crittenton Women’s Union - which measures how much income Bay State families need to meet basic expenses - found that has reached a new high this year. 'The figures we’re releasing today are sobering,' said Elisabeth Babcock, Crittenton’s president.”…
Read the full article.

THE BOSTON GLOBE
February 16, 2010
Breaking patterns that derail their lives
"Jessica McLeod, a former drug user who had lost everything, sat with a group of counselors in a South Boston meeting room recently, huddled over a pile of papers. Together, the group was setting up a plan to dig her out of poverty.
 
A list emerged: Get a job, pay off old debts, enroll in nursing classes. Deadlines were set. And then another ingredient was added: cash incentives." ...
Read the full story.
 
WAMC NORTHEAST PUBLIC RADIO
January 13, 2010
State Cuts Hit Women and Children Hardest
"MASSACHUSETTS (WAMC) - The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center released a report this week showing that cuts to state funded services have disproportionately impacted women and children. Our Berkshire Bureau Chief Charlie Deitz reports that cuts to support services had been going on for a decade, and were only made worse by the current recession" ...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE
January 12, 2010
Women are especially hard hit by state budget cuts, report says
"In a report titled “An Unstable Ladder,’’ the independent Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says cuts in state funding to programs that provide adult education, employment training, and child care subsidies are having a detrimental effect on women, who make up the majority of those receiving such services.
 
'We have a long way to go when women still earn 78 cents on every dollar earned by men and when almost two-thirds of the poor families in the state are headed by single women,' said Ruthie Liberman, vice president of the Crittenton Women’s Union in Brighton, which provides services and support to low-income women. 'It clearly indicates why these services are so essential.'" ...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE
December 20, 2009
Making a life in a motel
"Hundreds of homeless families are living in motels on the North Shore and in the Merrimack Valley as the state’s housing crisis has pushed a record 1,015 families into homelessness, according to state data." ...
 
A single room, where a family gets its footing
 
"...Shaleia [Taft] takes a 7:35 a.m. bus to Boston, where she is studying for her Graduate Equivalency Diploma at Crittenton Women’s Union. She stays at school until about 3 p.m., arriving back at the motel to meet Zaniyah’s bus at about 3:30 p.m. “If I am running late, the [motel] staff will get her off the bus for me,’’ she said." ...
 
ALLSTON-BRIGHTON TAB
November 2, 2009
Volunteers make Hastings House shelter homier
 
"Volunteers from Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company Shire Human Genetic Therapies and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts gave Brighton’s Hastings House an 'extreme makeover.'" ...
 
THE LEXINGTON MINUTEMAN
October 23, 2009
Shire to help Hastings House
 
"Brighton - Wielding paint brushes, hammers, rakes, and knitting needles, an army of more than 40 employees of Lexington and Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company Shire Human Genetic Therapies will undertake a complete refurbishing of Hastings House in Brighton, a transitional homeless shelter housing 62 families.’’ ...
 
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY - FOCUS ON THE CITY
October 22, 2009
"Focus On The City" interviews Jennifer Lowe
 
"Jennifer Lowe, a PhD student at NU, puts her sociological training to good use. Jennifer earned her MA in sociology at Northeastern, and is now completing her PhD, specializing in urban sociology and social inequality. She has worked at a variety of non-profit organizations engaged in anti-poverty work, and is now Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Crittenton Women's Union. Since 2003, Jennifer has served on the Executive Council of the New England Sociological Association. Below she explains how she applies her sociological training in real-world pursuits.’’ ...
 
BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
August 20, 2009
More education training grants proposed in Mass.
 
..."The legislation to create the Educational Rewards Grant program, introduced by Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, is a continuation of funding for a similar grant program that went into effect in 2006 as part of the state’s economic stimulus package, which authorized $1.5 million for this specific type of educational grant.
 
More than 400 students have utilized the current Educational Rewards Grant program, receiving grants of up to $3,000 per year, and the money is expected to run out by December, said Ruthie Liberman, vice president for public policy, Crittenton Women’s Union, which is supporting the bill.’’ ...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE
June 25, 2009
Sweeping welfare changes on tap
 
..."'The idea of many of the recommendations is to allow low-income and moderate-income residents to get ahead,' said Elisabeth Babcock, president of the Crittenton Women’s Union in Boston, who served on the commission. 'These recommendations would eliminate obstacles for many families and allow them to maintain that economic security once they’ve obtained it.'’’ ...
 
NEW ENGLAND CABLE NEWS
March 13, 2009
Proposed changes worry families in shelters
 
"(NECN: Brad Puffer, Boston, Mass.) - They are women living in shelters, many with young children or pregnant. And they are worried what might happen if new stricter requirements are approved on who can receive assistance." ...
 
MASSNONPROFIT.ORG
January 21, 2009
Crittenton Women’s Union Named Finalist for $250,000 Prize
 
"January 19, 2009 –- Crittenton Women’s Union has been named one of eight finalists, out of a pool of over 644 nominations, for The Collaboration Prize, a national cash award of $250,000 to be presented to an outstanding model of nonprofit collaboration." ...
 
ALLSTON-BRIGHTON TAB
January 15, 2009
Brighton-based program helps low-income women, families get back on their feet
 
"BRIGHTON - Come spring, 18-year-old Darleni Guerrero starts her freshman year at Bunker Hill Community College, but the road she followed to get there was not a typical one. When Guerrero got pregnant at 17, she dropped out of high school because she didn’t know what else to do. After having her son, she decided to get back on the path she had always planned for herself, which first meant getting her GED." ...
 
METRO
Novermber 13, 2008
Just to make ends meet
 
"Report details low-income family struggles
 
A single working parent in Boston with two children is more financially secure earning the state’s minimum hourly wage of $8 and maximizing public support than one making twice that salary, according to a UMass-Boston report released yesterday." ...
 
UPI.COM
November 12, 2008
Low-Wage Workers Earning $8/Hour Can Be Better off Than at Twice the Pay
 
"New report finds disjointed public support system can lead to greater family economic instability
 
A single working parent with two children in Greater Boston earning $16,000 a year, the state’s minimum wage, and receiving all the major public support programs available to her can better support her household than she could earning $16 an hour ($32,000 a year) and receiving aid because of the disjointed public work support system, according to a new study released today by Crittenton Women’s Union and The Center for Social Policy at the John W. McCormack Graduate School, UMass Boston."...
 
THE STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
Novermber 12, 2008
REPORT: Support for single moms shallow, quick to fade away
 
"STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, NOV. 12, 2008…..Bay State single mothers attempting to enter the middle class are hampered by the inadequacy of government work support programs, which are disjointed and withdrawn too quickly as recipients climb into higher income brackets, according to a report issued Wednesday from a UMass-Boston policy center and a non-profit group aimed at helping low-income women attain economic independence." ...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE / EDITORIAL
September 24, 2008
Getting stuck in the trap of poverty
 
"A RECENT STUDY by the University of Massachusetts documenting the increased disparity between Massachusetts residents in the top 20 percent of the income ladder and those in the bottom 20 percent was hardly news to poor families. In addition to the disparity, low-income residents are finding it harder to climb out of poverty."...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE / EDITORIAL
September 20, 2008
Poverty, by outdated numbers
 
"IT'S TIME for a new look at poverty, one that doesn't presume a Beatles-era economy.
 
It was the 1960s when Mollie Orshansky, a federal government worker, used the price of food to come up with an estimate for the minimal cost of living. This work became the basis for the federal poverty line.."...
 
WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE / OPINION
June 11, 2008
State would be wise to offer free tuition for working poor
 
"Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed making community colleges tuition-free. Some think this is pie-in-the-sky thinking. But it’s not when you consider that 1.4 million adults, nearly half of the state’s 3.2 million workers, lack the skills required to obtain jobs that pay enough to support their families, according to a Crittenton Women’s Union report."...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE
June 11, 2008
Safety nets stretched thin
 
"[...]Boston Foundation officials have quietly advocated in the past that nonprofits consolidate to reduce overhead and offset funding cuts, but today's report marks a more formal and public call to action. Some nonprofits already have heeded the call. In a high-profile 2006 merger, the Women's Union and Crittenton, two Boston charities that help at-risk women and families, joined to form the Crittenton Women's Union."...
 
MASSNONPROFIT.ORG
April 12, 2008
Crittenton Women’s Union Award Prompts Unplanned $50K Pledge
 
"April 12, 2008 — Suze Orman spontaneously pledged $50,000 yesterday to Crittenton Women’s Union, a Boston nonprofit dedicated to helping low-income women attain economic independence, as she accepted the organization’s twenty-fourth Amelia Earhart Award, bringing the total raised at the event to more than $400,000."...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE
April 12, 2008
Spreading her wealth
 
"Quite spontaneously, financial whiz Suze Orman pledged $50,000 to the Crittenton Women's Union yesterday during her acceptance of the organization's Amelia Earhart Award. The CNBC stalwart spoke to an overflow crowd at the Boston Marriott Copley Place that included Mayor Tom Menino's wife, Angela; Tufts-New England Medical Center CEO Ellen Zane and her husband, Peter, who's chair of CWU; Foundation To Be Named Later co-founder Paul Epstein and his wife, Saskia; and No. 9 Park chef Barbara Lynch. The CWU is dedicated to helping low-income women attain economic independence. Orman, we're told, was so moved by two program participants that she made the generous donation."...
 
THE BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
April 11, 2008
Finance guru Suze Orman honored in Boston by Crittenton Women's Union
 
"Suze Orman, best-selling author and Emmy Award-winning TV personality, committed $10,000 over five years to The Crittenton Women's Union during a fund-raising luncheon Friday. Orman was there to receive the 24th Amelia Earhart Award from Boston-based nonprofit that helps low-income women reach financial independence."...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE / EDITORIAL
April 6, 2008
Not so well after welfare
 
"THE GOAL of welfare reform wasn't to slash social spending to the bone, but to equip poor families to become self-sufficient. The rolls would shrink, the idea went, as recipients of cash assistance joined the labor force. States would then reinvest the savings in the toughest cases - such as those parents who needed extensive training and child care help to succeed at work. So what happened to all the money?"...
 
MASSNONPROFIT.ORG
March 12, 2008
Crittenton Women’s Union Cites Failings in State’s Ed System
 
"... Nearly half of the state’s 3.2 million workers lack the skills required by employers to obtain jobs with family-sustaining wages, according to a report released today from Crittenton Women’s Union, a Boston-based nonprofit that helps low-income women attain economic independence."...
 
BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
January 17, 2008
Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts plans council merger
 
"... [Ruth N.] Bramson started Suited for Success, a nonprofit organization she conceived, developed and grew, focused on assisting economically disadvantaged women move from welfare to lives of self-sufficiency for themselves and their children. The organization merged with The Crittenden Women's Union, where the programs continue as part of their curriculum."...
 
BOSTON NOW
January 7, 2008
Group helps impoverished
 
"The recent abundance of sub-prime mortgages and the low value of the American dollar give evidence to the decline of the U.S. economy. And women, in particular, are suffering from recent economic conditions."...
 
THE METROWEST DAILY NEWS
December 28, 2007
Food banks suffering
 
"Food banks across Massachusetts, already hobbled by state and federal budget cuts, are struggling to meet the increasing demands of a faltering economy beset by the mortgage crisis and higher food and energy costs."...
 
WEEKLY DIG
December 20, 2007
The state of the season
 
"'The kettles are running behind last year,' said Tom Langdon of the Massachusetts Salvation Army, referring to the infamous red copper kettles manned by volunteers who relentlessly peal their bells. He estimated the kettles are earning 8 to 9 percent less than this time last year." ...
 
BOSTON GLOBE / EDITORIAL
November 28, 2007
The niche economy
 
"EVERY BEGINNING INVESTOR is told how important it is to diversify. Yet Massachusetts is in danger of concentrating its job growth in highly specialized "boutique" economic sectors that leave out too many workers. That's one conclusion of a major new study by MassINC and the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern." ...
 
BOSTON GLOBE / EDITORIAL
November 19, 2007
Our bittersweet 16
 
"... 'Self empowerment,' a natural response to loss of faith in systems, is a theme repeated in many of the letters. And new ways of achieving that goal have emerged. Elisabeth Babcock of Boston's Crittenton Women's Union uses technology and research to help low-income women achieve "personal and economic independence," which will lessen their vulnerability to workplace abuses. Her online forum invites women to give voice to their concerns and triumphs." ...
 
WCVB-TV/DT BOSTON
November 13, 2007
Extreme Makeover: My Hometown: Crittenton Women's Union
 
"BOSTON -- Extreme Makeover: My Hometown, WCVB-TV/DT Channel 5's local version of the ABC Sunday night hit, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," will embark on its ninth renovation project at the Crittenton Women's Union in Brighton.'” ...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE / EDITORIAL
November 1, 2007
When wages don't pay the bills
 
"MODERN LIFE depends on the efforts of millions of low-wage workers - cooks, waiters, hair stylists, and child-care providers. But in these and other fields, according to a new report, wages can be so low that workers can't even cover their basic living expenses. Americans, the report declares, 'have not gotten serious enough about making work work for families.'” ...
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE - InSidekick
October 20, 2007
Locals Online: 'Voices' carry
 
"When you’re trying to get back on your feet, sharing your story can help. “The Voices Project” posts blogs by clients of the Crittendon Women’s Union, an advocacy organization for low-income women. The clients discuss their lives and give advice online. One promises her unborn son, “You will always come first.” ...
 
THE BAY STATE BANNER
October 11, 2007
Madison Park nursery has teen moms on track
 
"It is 10 a.m. at Madison Park Technical and Vocational High School in Roxbury, and class is in session. The hiss of soldering irons echoes through the hallways on the ground floor, home to the construction and transportation academy. The hum of hairdryers floats out of the cosmetology school. A teacher hustles a few stragglers into a classroom." ...

BROOKLINE TAB
September 26, 2007
Food pantry struggles to keep up with growing demand
 
"Brookline -

'Next!' Claire Nicholson called to a half-dozen people chatting like old friends on chairs and a pew in St. Paul’s Church last Tuesday morning. One by one, they walked between cupboards and a row of tables, filling a brown paper bag with fresh corn, potatoes, bread, pastries, canned fruit and soups.

They call it “shopping,” but no money changes hands as they collect their food and leave." ...

BROOKLINE TAB
August 30, 2007
Support for young parents
 
"Where can young parents turn for support and information to help them build good parenting skills? Boston Neighborhoods Healthy Families at Crittenton Women's Union is a voluntary, strength-based home visiting program for first-time parents under the age of 20 at the time of their referral, and are pregnant or parenting a child 3 years old or younger." ...
Read the full article.

THE BAY STATE BANNER
August 30, 2007

"Participants in the Boston Neighborhoods Healthy Families program at Crittenton Women’s Union share a smile. The program — open to first-time parents under the age of 20 at the time of their referral that are pregnant or parenting a child 3 years old or younger — focuses on health, well-being and parenting relationships." ...
Read the full article.
 
 
THE BOSTON GLOBE / EDITORIAL
August 26, 2007
Penny-pinching with health
 
"CHILDREN are getting caught in the middle of a misguided political fight.
 
On one side is Congress, trying to reauthorize and expand S-Chip, the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program that covers low-income children whose families aren't poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. The House and Senate have passed bills to reauthorize the 10-year-old program." ...
Read the full article.
 
MASSNONPROFIT.ORG
July 25, 2007
United Way to Invest $950K in 14 Nonprofits to End Homelessness
 
"United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley announced that it will invest $950,000 in 14 local nonprofit organizations that are working to end homelessness by putting the cutting-edge “Housing First” philosophy into practice." ...
Read the full article.
 
THE BOSTON HERALD
May 13, 2007
Hub homeless women share hardships on blog
 

"For these women, life is a struggle. They are poor. Looking for a job. Uneducated. Single mothers. Homeless. Disabled.

They share that struggle on their blogs.

Recently launched by the nonprofit Crittenton Women’s Union in Boston, the Voices Project Blog is a place where struggling women can share their hardships and triumphs, voice opinions and offer one another encouragement and advice." ...
Read the full article.

 

BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
April 20 , 2007
Meeting a 'double bottom line'

"A CFO at a nonprofit is facing the increasingly stringent requirements weighing on the private sector" ...
Read the full article.

 

THE BOSTON GLOBE
April 15 , 2007
Hey, here's one preschool that's jumping

"One of the better programs in the city to get 3- to 5-year-olds prepared for school uses college students as preschool mentors." ...
Read the full article.

THE BOSTON GLOBE
March 9, 2007
Young parents lobby for programs

"Just as 14-year-old Estella Hernandez started her freshman year at Chelsea High School, she had another new beginning, the birth of her healthy baby boy. " ...
Read the full article.

WOMEN'S BUSINESS BOSTON
March 2007
Beth Babcock Strategizes for Women's Self-Sufficiency

"For Beth Babcock, working in health and human services was a no-brainer. "I come from a long line of teachers, college professors, preachers and doctors," she says.

Taking the lead of the newly formed Crittenton Women's Union as its first president and CEO last spring was a no-brainer as well. "It was like catnip," she admits.

In turn, Babcock, whose doctorate degree is in nonprofit organizational strategy, couldn't have been a better choice for leading the merger of the Crittenton and The Women's Union." ...
Read the full article.

NORTH ADAMS TRANSCRIPT
February 20, 2007
Report: 'Realistic' poverty threshold higher than federal

"NORTH ADAMS — State Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, has filed legislation to replace federal poverty-level standards with a 'self-sufficiency guideline' — an attempt to help the working poor maintain vital services as they move toward independence. " ...
Read the full article.

THE BOSTON GLOBE / OPINION
February 15, 2007
At the base of the ladder out of poverty

"FINANCIAL SECURITY for a single mom with two kids requires more than $58,000 annually ("Better living through job help," Editorial, Feb. 12). Crittenton Women's Union, which issued the report you cite, is widely respected for its leadership in offering workers opportunity for learning and career growth as a ladder to climb out of poverty." ...
Read the full article.

THE BAY STATE BANNER
February 15, 2007
Massachusetts residents leaving for new borders

"Take it from Brad Singleton.

He'll tell you he is living the good life. A native of Roxbury, Singleton has lived in the South for nearly 13 years, and at the moment, he has no intention of returning home. " ...
Read the full article.

THE BOSTON GLOBE / EDITORIAL
February 12, 2007
Better living through job help

"Year after year, the news is the same: it's expensive to live in Massachusetts. Just to cover bare bones costs, a mother with two children needs to earn $58,133, according to the latest version of the Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard, just released by the Crittenton Women's Union, a local nonprofit organization. First compiled in 1998, the standard has been a public policy alarm clock, repeatedly ringing a reminder that families across the state aren't earning as much as they need." ...
Read the full article.

GLOUCESTER DAILY TIMES
February 9, 2007
Study says single parents need higher salaries to provide basic needs

"A single mother of a preschooler and two school-age children living in Gloucester needs to be earning $33.92 an hour to adequately support them, a recent study says." ...
Read the full article.

MASSNONPROFIT.ORG
February 2, 2007
Crittenton Women's Union Says Cost of Self-Sufficiency Rises

"Crittenton Women's Union today released its latest Self-Sufficiency Standard for Boston, which shows that in 2006, the cost to live in Boston for a family of three—single parent, preschooler and school age child—was $58,133 annually, up from $51,284 in 2003, an overall increase of 13%." ...
Read the full article.

CAPE COD TIMES
February 2, 2007
Barely making it on Cape

"As a single mother of a nearly-8-year-old boy, Bernadette Ponce of Dennis knows it isn't always easy to make ends meet on Cape Cod. " ...
Read the full article.

THE REPUBLICAN—SPRINGFIELD
February 2, 2007
Study sees disparity in needs vs. income

"SPRINGFIELD - A single parent living in Greater Springfield with a pre-schooler and a school-age child would have to make three times the state minimum wage of $7.50 an hour in order to get by without grants, subsidies or other assistance, a report issued yesterday said." ...
Read the full article.

BOSTON.COM / THE BOSTON GLOBE
February 1, 2007
Single mother? You need to make $58K in Mass.

"To make ends meet, a single mother of two children in Boston needs to earn $27.53 an hour, or nearly four times more than the current Massachusetts minimum wage of $7.50 an hour, a new report said today." ...
Read the full article.

THE BOSTON GLOBE(Front Page)
April 6, 2006
Nonprofit mergers catch on in region

"The wave of mergers rippling through the corporate world is also washing into another sector: Nonprofits ... One of the more striking mergers will be completed in July when two venerable Boston charities that help at-risk women and families, The Women's Union and Crittenton, combine."
Read the full article.

THE BOSTON GLOBE / EDITORIAL
March 14, 2006
United for women's lives

"WELCOME TO the wedding of two Boston nonprofit agencies, where the sum of one plus one is meant to equal one -- but a better, stronger one. As they announced last week, Crittenton, a human service organization, and the Women's Union, which provides services and advocacy, intend to merge on July 1."
Read the full article.

THE BOSTON HERALD
March 10, 2006
Nonprofits merge to aid poor

Two historic Boston nonprofits that help low-income women and at-risk families reach economic self-sufficiency will merge. The Women's Union and Crittenton Inc. will become the Crittenton Women's Union on July 1. "Together we can be a stronger voice in the community and the state,"...
Read the full article.

THE BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL
March 10, 2006
Nonprofits Crittenton and Women's Union announce merger

Crittenton and The Women's Union announced Thursday the two nonprofits will merge operations to form The Crittenton Women's Union. Elisabeth D. Babcock, former president and CEO of HEARTH -- a Boston-based charitable organization that provides advocacy and outreach to find permanent housing for elders -- will be the new organization's president and CEO.
Read the full article.


For more information or press inquiries:
Stephanie M. Nichols
Director of Marketing and Communications
617.259.2946
snichols@liveworkthrive.org
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