East Boston: Diversity in Community and Activities

By Br. Bob Metell, SDB

(East Boston, MA – October 4) – Don Bosco said the Oratory is a “house that welcomes” with its doors open to any youngster in need. At the Salesian Boys & Girls Club, the staff strives to make all youngsters and their families feel at home as soon as they enter the door. Often, our families and neighbors in East Boston fall into hard times. The late Mayor Menino of Boston often said “The Salesian Boys and Girls Club well represents the ethnic legacy of East Boston neighborhood with its wide cultural and ethnic member representation of the community.”

Last month, one of our members and their family lost their home to fire along with several other families who lived in the triple-decker apartment building. Maria, our arts and crafts counselor and one of my kitchen assistants, is one of their neighbors; she has gone well out of her way to assist the families as an interpreter and with finding lodging and other assistance. The club is in the process of collecting clothing and other items for the families.

Like most of the city, East Boston has a large immigrant population from various parts of the globe. The families who lost their home, and Maria, are from Colombia. They are now faced with finding a place to live and going through the government bureaucracy, which takes time. Unfortunately, not just recently arriving immigrants face bureaucratic roadblocks; everyone does! As in any family, when one suffers, we all do.

Like many Boston neighborhoods, East Boston is widely diverse. Housing consists mainly of 19th-century brownstone houses, and wooden apartment complexes ranging in size from two-family to multi-family buildings. New modern apartments and condos have been built along the East Boston waterfront in the past ten years. However, most homes are still the older wooden structures built in the 19th and mid-20th centuries. When one catches fire, the fire usually spreads quickly. Compounded with a sea breeze, a fire can take out large swaths of the area all at once in no time.

On Saturday, September 30, the Salesian Boys and Girls Club members and their families were treated to a petting zoo sponsored by the local Rotary Club under an overcast sky. The zoo included baby rabbits, pigs, goats, chickens, and ducks. While the little farm was the main event, the youngsters were given pumpkins to decorate and could do face painting. One of the club’s staff members organized a soccer game in the gym. Everyone was treated to homemade apple cider donuts, and hotdogs for lunch.

There are many good neighbors in the East Boston area who come out to support the club and provide events and activities for the club members and their families. The local Rotary Club sponsors many club events, fundraising, and activities for the club members and their families. In the spring they will return with the animals."

Over the winter, they will host a trivia night fundraising event that will be open to the public and offer a lot of fun and fellowship. After all, who can pass up a night of food and big raffle prizes including the 50/50?