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And I think if we had cleaner, safer, nicer beaches, that it promotes a healthier life. It promotes togetherness as a family. And also, the water in itself releases stress. It’s just all around a good environment…I just think that when I see people at the beach, they’re happy. They’re just enjoying themselves. They’re enjoying the sun. I think if we had cleaner beaches and safer beaches that would promote those things for the community. Their healing. 

—Justice-Involved Resident of East Boston

I thought it was really interesting to see the stark difference between the luxury condos on one side and then you have the projects on the other side. And you see the police car is right on the other side. And so, it shows what an unhealthy community looks like, to me. That’s why I took that one. I thought it was really interesting because it shows the stark difference between wealth income; I guess the priority that they might receive in terms of public safety…and such a contrast of what East Boston maybe has been; sort of neglected, care-wise, for so long, and what it is sort of becoming – a center where people are investing more time in East Boston now. But it’s only now, after the sort of gentrification has taken off and when there’s a lot more people of higher socioeconomic status. These parts are being remodeled, and these resources are being invested in, now. But there have always been people here in need of those resources.  

—East Boston Young Adult

This was also at a work event. It was at Maverick Landing…They had been taking digital literacy classes at Maverick Landing. But in this particular class, my team from work—we came and gave a presentation about rent control, and the need that there is for rent control. Especially in East Boston. And especially in BIPOC communities. And we also gave a fast crash-course on their basic tenant rights. These are formally incarcerated people. One of them had actually said that they had just been released last week. And so, they are reintegrating into society and might not be aware of the rights that they have as tenants. And so, we wanted to give them those resources. 

—East Boston Young Adult

But I mean, I think a lot of what needs to be done is cleaning. I mean, I know we have street cleaning. But I feel like people … I don’t know how we can make people be more conscientious about the frigging trash they throw out. 

I mean, I just go to my porch and I take a look out and I’m like—you know what … I’m not sure if people know what “BeReal” is. A lot of people are using it, kids my age. And we post “BeReal.” And I’m like; okay, I’m going to post my “BeReal” of the day. And then I’m like; this is a nice location, you know? And then you see trash floating. And I’m like; you know what? It’s no longer nice. I think my intention is to try to be like I wish it could be a cleaner area. Because I feel like that also attracts rats, and mice. I mean, I know the construction is what’s bring out the rats a lot more, too. But also, leaving stuff—trash and food—outside, it just sucks. And it brings a lot of insects, and roaches. And it just doesn’t make East Boston or certain areas look nice. You know?

—East Boston Young Adult

I put this on because I am just so inspired by how the entire exhibit is based around repurposing commonly used items. There are two different art displays, sculptures in the photo. In the back you can see a bunch of wooden crates—and these wooden crates are like fruit and veggie crates that were repurposed into crates to hold supplies for workers that are in the shoe-mending industry.

This was in a different country; I think this was in Ghana. The artist took these crates and repurposed them into this sculpture. And then, right in front of it, as you all can probably tell – clothing. So, the artist took clothing from different areas where she found clothing—whether it be in dumpsters, on the street, or in thrift stores, or from family and friends, and community members—and used it to create this beautiful mosaic kind of quilt-like woven together clothing.

And I believe that this does a really great job at showing a healthy, thriving community, because it shows that … and it’s making this art accessible to everyone to see that. First, it takes a village, and we are a part of a larger group of people. We’re not just solely living in our own little bubble. So, I feel like these pieces reminded me of that. And, aside from the meaning of the pieces, I just love that this is free for people to come and see, and that it starts the conversation around how can we repurpose items that we were going to throw away and that could end up in landfills and stuff. And I thought it was really cool, making the art accessible—but then having a deeper meaning rooted in it around sustainability and just creating some type of awareness around waste, and what we can do with that waste to give it a new life.

—East Boston Young Adult

[A]long those same lines of making art more accessible in communities—I took this photo on the greenway—the new greenway that’s right by Airport Park. And I just loved how the music was being brought into not only this green space, but into East Boston; into an area where there are a lot of families and people that are hanging out, that are enjoying the day. And then they got to hear this music. For me, art—but specifically music—is so transformative and powerful. And I have seen it completely change people’s days around. And you could see when we were all walking by and people could hear these instruments, they were smiling, and they were curious. I think that really helps enrich a community…But the idea of putting art in public spaces—specifically green spaces—activates those environments and makes it easier for so many things to happen. For them to be advocated for, so that there is more upkeep of them and that more of those spaces exist. It helps people become more aware of the artist within themselves. And I just think it creates really positive experiences overall; so, it contributes to a thriving society. 

—East Boston Young Adult

I was doing some stuff for my college, and I just saw this…[T]here was that section, just a bunch of free chairs, and people can go sit down. There were people there earlier. It was just a nice area. The area is a bit bigger than what the picture shows. And there was an area to the side with tables, and stuff like that. I just really think it’s cool, because people can sit down with their friends or just sit down, and people can come up to them. They even had nets up. I don’t know what type of nets, but you could play games. I thought that was really cool. 

—East Boston Young Adult

[T]hat was a building I attended when I was a kid; it’s called “East Boston Social Centers.” When I went there, I was like nine years old. And every day we would have field trips. The group that I was in, it was intended for young children. Their parents dropped them off over there, and they would go on a field trip together.

It reminded me how there are these organizations that are meant for specific groups, like little kids. You go take a walk; you see kids in groups, with their red vests on. You know what I’m saying? It reminded me of that. 

The same with the YMCA. That’s another picture I have, of the YMCA in East Boston. It’s these buildings and organizations that are meant for a specific group of people. Actually, not even specific groups; it’s for all groups, to be honest.

That just reminded me of how that’s a thriving part of the community, because it brings people together—whether you’re from different cultures, religions, ages.  

—East Boston Young Adult

Healthy communities. If you walk down my street, they are all like this. I love the flowers. The roses, everything. They’re clean, they’re beautiful. And then you look up and you see the bars. I mean, they’re trying. [E]verybody has to pitch in. Clean. Shovel your walkway. People didn’t do that this year, but— I don’t know the word to use. It’s not a contradiction, but it’s just … some people are really trying. And then they’re locking themselves in.

This one broke me. Where I’m standing, you can see I’m across the street. But at my feet there’s syringe laying on the ground. There’s empty beer cans. There’s even more. But yet, right across the street there are all these kids and families having a great time. It killed me to see that. I loved everything across the street. But where I was standing, that’s how close it is. That’s how it cuts right off. It could be just as far as right across the street; can be so much [good] going on. And then just being on the other side can be just the opposite. 

—Roxbury-Dorchester Elder

This is Dorchester. This is at 2:05 pm, in the afternoon. And the street is empty. When I was a kid, at this time of day in the summertime, there would be kids out here playing jump rope, hopscotch, whatever. It’s empty. And you said, “Don’t take no pictures of people,” but there ain’t no people there, anyway. 

Then the next photo is a park. When I was a kid, that park—at this time of day in the summertime and as hot as it was, there would be plenty of kids going up there to pay in the sprinklers, or the little baby pool, or whatever it is. You don’t see anybody. This is 2:30 in the afternoon.

I just think that for me, my community is scared to come outside.  

—Roxbury-Dorchester Elder

That’s a community center for kids to go to school there. They’ve got a swimming-type class…And they do have a lot of activities for the kids, in the summertime. They have a nice little playground for the kids. They’ve got some basketball courts. They’ve got football fields built. You can walk around in the park. And they have a tennis center, which is located behind that a little bit. In that aspect, they’re trying to make sure that the kids have a nice place to go in the summertime. Even in the wintertime, they can go in there and enjoy themselves. Because of what we talked about last week, about what they’re doing in the community and stuff. And that’s part of it right there. Which is good. That’s a real good thing that they’re doing.

This is also part of the park. And at dusk, at night, there’s a lot of illegal activities that go on over there. And that’s the contrast of this park. In the daytime there’s really not a lot of that activity going on. But at nighttime, it can get kind of rough over there. People go over there, they party. They do whatever they do. Part of this picture is them not cleaning up after themselves. Them not caring. People just not caring, period. And so, this is the contrast that I put together. It’s one place, but there is so much going on in this one park. Daytime. Nighttime. That’s what those two photos are about. 

—Roxbury-Dorchester Justice-Involved Resident

[T]hat’s a picture of someone that’s locked up. And that’s something that we fight for each and every day. My second picture kind of goes with that. It’s a clemency campaign that the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls held for Biden’s first 100 days in office. We wanted to have him release 100 women. The “free her clemency” campaign goes on in this state; they have a statewide clemency campaign, and the national council also works with them. So, every day this is what we fight for. The national council is also fighting legislation against prison-building, so we have the moratorium bill, which is the Senate Bill S2030. So, if anybody wants to go on and sign onto the moratorium; we want to stop the state from building more prisons. At least for five years. This is a group of women that fight for women, each and every day. I wanted to uplift that. 

—Roxbury-Dorchester Justice-Involved Resident

So, I took a picture of a program in Dorchester. And it’s called “New Beginnings Reentry Services for Women.” And it’s a brand-new program for women – by women, for women reentering out of prison. I think I said it’s a brand-new program. And the community has really given, believe it or not, the woman who started it a really hard time about being in this community. Which is surprising. They don’t want the women here. They don’t want them really coming out of the house. They want a curfew on the house. They don’t want smoking. They don’t want to see the women. They think it’s going to be all drugs, and prostituting, and it’s going to ruin their neighborhood. Which is really surprising, because we don’t see the neighborhood as being amazing to begin with. We thought that this would be something that would really help the community thrive. So, [the woman who started it] is just going forward with her plans to try and make it. 

—Roxbury-Dorchester Justice-Involved Resident

And this was me just driving through Cambridge. I’m admiring all the green, right? Again, you have permit parking here where there are residential homes. And there’s not so many trees, but … Well, there are so many trees, actually, for a city. This is very different, compared to Boston. You could breathe. You could walk through here safely, without being afraid that you're going to get shot, or even racially profiled. 

—Roxbury-Dorchester Justice-Involved Resident

And the next one is right here in my neighborhood. This is outside of my apartment building. I can say it’s pretty safe, because a lot of community members hang out. They’re out there now. They’re out there playing dominoes. They’re playing a little bit music over there. The kids run around out here and play. So, it’s not really bad. I don’t sit out there often, because I’m always doing stuff. But when I do get a chance, it’s pretty nice. I can say that.

—Roxbury-Dorchester Justice-Involved Resident

That’s a backyard, an area that my kids play in. I feel like that’s what our kids should be playing in; a nice, clean backyard. Because there are some other backyards near us that are real filthy and dirty. That’s the backyard my kids play in. I just feel safer with them in that backyard than a lot of the kids. This is near my mom’s house. 

—Roxbury-Dorchester Justice-Involved Resident

I see a business supporting the LGBQT community. And I feel like in most areas that’s kind of big, because it lets people know that you’re not biased towards them, and that you’re open towards anybody. Because most areas you won’t even see anything that has to do with the flag, really. So, it’s kind of a rare thing you see. I feel like a community that’s open to anything is thriving. They have an advantage, because everybody has a growth mindset. They’re not small-minded. For me, I feel like it’s a good example of a thriving community. 

—Roxbury-Dorchester Young Adult

But the benches, and that open space, and that sense of welcoming means that they’re thinking about people; they’re not just thinking about … there’s a humanity in that, that is very important. Then they have little trees. So, they are also thinking about the climate, you know? And good thought and good thinking went into that, to make it a good open space for people to enjoy. And I think that’s very important. And having new buildings that are up-to-date, and are clean, and service so many people; it’s very important. So, the new structures, but also the thought. The human element was thought about when they were designed and it’s placed on this space. It’s very important. 

—South Boston Elders

That’s a school. If you have a school in the community, then you have the kids that go to school in the community. So, they try to keep it clean. You see laughter. You see growth, development. You also have outside people that come into the community and help the community; such as the teachers, priests, police officers, fire department guys, army people. So, it’s all about bringing the community together and keeping it strong. I feel a school is a very vital part in a great community. 

—South Boston Justice-Involved Resident

[Y]ou need a church to be striving. You know, so the people in the community go to the church. They’re part of the community. And it just brings about a different aspect of life. It’s like a safe zone for kids. They incorporate different functions, different trips. They have bible study, children’s bible study. They have things that a community could come together and share and become whole—and tap into something outside of themselves. Something greater than themselves. 

—South Boston Justice-Involved Resident

That’s the new projects, basically after they’ve been remodeled or whatever. But I noticed a change in the community. Back in the days, we hung there, hard. Everybody went up there. It was a hangout, the neighborhood hangout. But at the same time, no one really took care of it. Because it was a run-down brick building, projects from the ‘40s - ‘50s. Just the neighborhood I guess made people not even want to take care of it. So, we would just leave beer bottles all around, and trash all around. Have a cookout, and just leave everything dispersed all around. Now, I noticed that ever since they rebuilt everything, it’s sort of like the community came together. Because I guess the environment is better, so people want to actually step in and help out to take care of it. So, we are actually a product of our environment in that sense…just because our environment changed and it’s a lot cleaner, and everybody … they appreciate where they’re living, now. There’s trash bags now, for the beer bottles. And people go outside and sweep up. I don’t know. It’s just a big change. I noticed that.

—South Boston Parent