Taking action

Three causes worth supporting: overturning a discriminatory law, feeding the hungry, and pushing solutions to the housing crisis

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Look no further than the state's policy barring convicted felons from working in human-service agencies for an example of a well-intentioned rule rife with unintended consequences. Enacted in 1996 after reports surfaced that the Department of Social Services was hiring foster parents with lengthy criminal records, the policy ended up barring many of the most effective drug-rehabilitation counselors -- former addicts, many of whom have drug convictions or committed crimes in order to pay for drugs -- from working in state-subsidized rehabilitation centers, homeless shelters, and other service agencies. Not long after the new policy was put in place, drug-rehab programs found it hard to fill positions.

After years of lobbying the state's political leadership for a change in the policy, human-service advocates finally organized a class-action lawsuit, filed last week in Superior Court, to force the state to change its hiring practices. The barriers to employment faced by one of the plaintiffs, Christine Cronin, neatly show the absurdity of the state's misguided policy. In 1993, Cronin was arrested for cocaine possession and given a suspended sentence. Less than a year after the arrest, Cronin completed a drug-treatment program and began attending school for a degree in human services. Her goal, according to the suit, is to "work with people with substance-abuse problems." In 1998, Cronin began volunteering at Middlesex Shelter, an agency for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. When a position opened up, Cronin applied. Her supervisor, Mark Cote, wanted to hire her but was prevented from doing so because of Cronin's 1993 conviction. In the suit, Cote says Cronin "would have been a wonderful positive role model for our clients."

By preventing prospective human-service employees with criminal records from working -- in other words, by further penalizing people who have served their sentences and paid their debt to society -- the state's policy clearly violates the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights and the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

It should be overturned.

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Sometimes the courts can't provide a remedy for what's wrong. The desperate problem of hunger in our society is just one of those situations. Despite record employment levels in the state and an unprecedented period of economic growth, Project Bread, a nonprofit agency that provides funds for more than 350 organizations fighting hunger in 124 communities, reports that 72 percent of the agencies, food pantries, and churches it serves cited an increased need for food last year.

"Many, many people are working at low-wage jobs, and they're just not making enough money to cover some of the cost-of-living expenses that have skyrocketed in recent years," says Project Bread spokeswoman Suzanne Shaw. "Particularly rents, also health-care costs. Essentially, all of these factors eat away at a family's income, and, part of the way through the month, they often run out of money to pay for food."

This Sunday, nearly 40,000 walkers are expected to participate in Project Bread's annual 20-mile Walk for Hunger. If you're not already walking or sponsoring someone who is, you can write a check out to Project Bread and mail it to 160 North Washington Street, fifth floor, Boston, MA 02114. For more information, visit the Project Bread Web site at www.projectbread.org.

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One of the contributing factors to the hunger problem in the state is the high cost of housing. The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) will hold an action May 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College to draw attention to the city's housing crisis -- and to get the politicians in attendance, who are slated to include Senate president Tom Birmingham and Boston mayor Tom Menino, to pledge to support increased resources.

Formed in 1996, the GBIO is fashioned after the Chicago-based Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), two of the most influential urban grassroots organizations in the country. Unlike many advocacy groups, which coalesce around one issue, the GBIO has structured its agenda around the concerns of community members. And in Boston, that would be the high cost of housing.

The group has collected 100,000 signatures of citizens who support three moves toward solving the city's housing crisis: increasing state funding for affordable housing, enacting tenant protections, and appropriating land for building low-cost housing. To join the cause, call (617) 825-5600.

What do you think? Send an e-mail to letters[a]phx.com.