The Scope: Boston

The Scope: Boston The Scope is a digital news site focused on telling stories of justice, hope and resilience, produced by the Northeastern University School of Journalism.

We tell stories of hope, justice and resilience through local accountability journalism that engages both community members and policy makers. Our work is inspired by Homicide Watch Boston, part of a network of crime beat websites founded by Chris and Laura Amico. We first expanded our mission as The Docket, where we aimed to contextualize the urban violence we had been covering. At The Scope, we

not only dig deeper into injustice, but also celebrate its solutions. The Scope was founded by Brilee Weaver, Emily Hopkins and Priyanka Ketkar.

“As an AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] resident here in the city, just in general, there's been a lot of anim...
02/28/2023

“As an AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] resident here in the city, just in general, there's been a lot of animosity towards the community and not just since the pandemic, but the pandemic, I think, certainly put it front and center for folks," said City Councilor Nina Liang.

From violent hate crimes and vandalism to name-calling and discrimination, scapegoating has fueled countless anti-AAPI hate incidents across the United States since the start of the pandemic.

From 2019 to 2020, there was a 77% increase in the number of anti-Asian hate crimes compiled by the FBI. At that same time, the number of reporting agencies decreased by 452 across the United States, meaning that the spike in hate crimes was likely underreported.

There were 11,467 hate incidents reported throughout the United States between March 19, 2020 and March 31, 2022, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that tracks and responds to hate incidents against the AAPI community. Massachusetts had the sixth highest number of reports of any state, with 340 reported hate incidents. These reports include acts of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning and child bullying that impact AAPI individuals but may not meet the statutory threshold to constitute a hate crime.

Swipe to see data from Harvard’s Asian Implicit Association Test.

This test gives a glimpse into the attitudes behind these often overlooked forms of discrimination by measuring how strongly respondents associate Asian American, versus European American, faces with American or foreign symbols. The data shown includes over 20,000 individual respondents in Massachusetts from 2004 to 2021.

These scores range from −2 to 2, with negative values indicating a bias that Asian Americans are more American than European Americans ("pro-Asian bias"), a score of zero indicating no bias, and positive values indicating a bias that European Americans are more American than Asian Americans ("pro-white bias").

Visit the link in bio to learn more about the rise in AAPI hate, as well as more data surrounding Harvard’s test.

Story and graphics by and . Photo by .jpg

While needle exchange programs have been operating in the U.S. since the 1980s, overdose prevention centers are only now...
02/10/2023

While needle exchange programs have been operating in the U.S. since the 1980s, overdose prevention centers are only now making headway, reports Gracie Vogel. The centers offer a new approach to aiding people with a substance use disorder, and they’re coming to the city of Somerville soon.

Overdose prevention centers, or safe consumption sites, have yet to gain wide acceptance by policymakers, but research has shown that these centers can increase public safety.

Social media promotion by: Jake Bentzinger and Sarah Liu

https://thescopeboston.org/8541/features/somerville-officials-are-making-plans-to-open-the-states-first-safe-drug-consumption-site/

Boston is known as one of the most popular running cities in the United States — but its recognition extends far beyond ...
02/08/2023

Boston is known as one of the most popular running cities in the United States — but its recognition extends far beyond the famed Boston Marathon. With dozens of running clubs and competitions, for both beginning and advanced runners, the city’s running community is vibrant and active.

Like many other sports, however, running has historically excluded people of color, women and nonbinary people. In Boston, there have been growing efforts to make the sport more inclusive and supportive, including the creation of clubs and competitions designed specifically for runners of marginalized identities.

“There’s now more of a lens on us. Our voices are being amplified,” said Alia Qatarneh, a “LeadHer” of , an all-female run crew in Boston. “It’s not that these are … new people to the sport. It’s just that now our voices are being amplified.”

Organizations like TrailblazHers are reshaping the narrative around running in Boston, including facilitating communities for runners who don’t fall into the historic demographic patterns.

Story and reporting by .jpg and .

Photo courtesy Elizabeth Rock, co-founder of TrailblazHers Run Co.

Link in bio to read more.

Hospitality Homes, founded in 1983, is a program in Boston that relies on donations to extend care beyond the hospital a...
11/28/2022

Hospitality Homes, founded in 1983, is a program in Boston that relies on donations to extend care beyond the hospital and into the home. The organization assists patients and family members who live at least 50 miles away from the facility where they are receiving treatment.

The program matches patients and their supporters with host homes or donated apartments to improve their access to medical needs.

Deborah J. Pepper has been a host for Hospitality Homes since 2016 and became the program’s executive director in 2018. In Pepper’s time involved with Hospitality Homes, she herself has hosted over 40 families and has helped the program double in participation in the past two and a half years. “This whole program is based on doing something for somebody else, and you get so much in return. It’s not just nice to be a host. You get so many rewards,” said Pepper.

Story and reporting by

Visit thescopeboston.org for more.

The Greater Boston area has seen a shift in its biking culture over the past several years as public transportation beco...
11/21/2022

The Greater Boston area has seen a shift in its biking culture over the past several years as public transportation becomes a less appealing option and bike sharing makes the activity more accessible to everyone.

“When I first started, it was a lot more — I should say, visibly to me, anyway — white men,” said the Rev. Laura Everett, the author of “Holy Spokes: The Search for Urban Spirituality on Two Wheels” and a long-time biking advocate. “There was definitely a community of folks who rode because they had no other option, or they didn’t have licenses or economics meant that they needed to. But the activity and transit community was a lot of white guys in spandex. And that has really shifted.”

Everett attributes this change to three main factors — the introduction of Bluebikes, improving the accessibility of biking; frustration about the unreliability of the MBTA or COVID-induced nervousness around public transportation in general; and the rise of biking advocacy and outreach groups that worked to diversify the biking community and make the city safer for bikers. Although Boston has a relatively extensive public transportation system, with five subway lines and more than 100 bus routes, Bluebikes has begun to take the place of the MBTA for some residents.

Reporting by ’s Journalism 2 class.

Visit thescopeboston.org for more

Through her work at Tree of Life in Jamaica Plain, Carol Miranda has dedicated her career to ensuring her community gets...
11/11/2022

Through her work at Tree of Life in Jamaica Plain, Carol Miranda has dedicated her career to ensuring her community gets the support it needs. Sometimes this means diapers for newborns, sometimes suits for court hearings, and sometimes food for pets.

Over the past five years, it came to Miranda’s attention that people in her community were choosing between feeding themselves and feeding their pets. Because of economic hardships, a worsening economy, and, in some cases, fear of deportation or discrimination, people weren’t getting the care their pets need.

Miranda knew that Tree of Life could do more to support people and their pets. This is why she added vaccine clinics and a pet food pantry to the long list of things that Tree of Life offers.
“We found that a lot of families were not getting food for their household in order to feed their pets,” she said.

Story and photos by Isabella LoNigro and Shuan Jing

Visit thescopeboston.org for more

Massachusetts residents on Tuesday cast their ballots in the midterm election, rallying around issues such as women’s ri...
11/09/2022

Massachusetts residents on Tuesday cast their ballots in the midterm election, rallying around issues such as women’s rights, abortion access, and legal driver’s licenses for undocumented aliens.

Interviewed by Scope reporters at polling stations across the Greater Boston area, voters expressed frustration with the lack of accessibility of the election process this year, from language and disability accommodations to the complex wording of the referendum questions.

Read our full coverage at thescopeboston.org

Photos by Serena Buscarello and .jpg

East Boston’s Clippership Wharf is currently home to a 7-acre development of apartments and condominiums, which were bui...
11/07/2022

East Boston’s Clippership Wharf is currently home to a 7-acre development of apartments and condominiums, which were built with fairly conventional standards, and with minor and traditional sea level rise stopgaps, such as flood barriers and salt marshes.

Back in 2013, Boston-based architect Weston Wright began designs for a proposal with a radically different vision for the waterfront property. His designs allowed for integration between the buildings and the water, using a new, amphibian kind of architecture.

“We should not expect conventional architectural form and materiality to adapt to conditions that it never contemplated,” says Wright.
In the wake of climate change and sea level rise, humanity’s most obvious solution would be a mass migration inland. But humans have an intrinsic and perennial tendency to gravitate toward coastlines. In order to square these two facts, Wright proposes a reimagining among architects, engineers, and urbanists – thinking beyond sea walls toward more creative and long-term solutions.

Story and reporting by

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Knowledge is power. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, reproductive justice advocates say a source that provides accur...
10/31/2022

Knowledge is power. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, reproductive justice advocates say a source that provides accurate and trustworthy information is needed now more than ever.

Saniya Lee Ghanoui is the program director of Our Bodies, Ourselves Today, a non-profit organization located at Suffolk University. Ghanoui and her team produce digital content that informs girls, women, and gender-expansive people about their health and sexuality. Earlier this fall, they launched a redesigned version of their website that, in a post-Dobbs America, is helping individuals understand reproductive health in a highly political environment.

“We can’t change the laws. We’re not in Congress. But we respond to the changing laws and provide information, so you can make the best decision for you.”

Visit the story at the link in bio.

Story and photos by and Chang Liu

In 1851, the first U.S. YMCA was established in Boston, Massachusetts and by 1854, there were 397 YMCAs in seven nations...
10/28/2022

In 1851, the first U.S. YMCA was established in Boston, Massachusetts and by 1854, there were 397 YMCAs in seven nations totaling 30,369 members. The YMCA is the largest not-for-profit community service organization in the U.S., serving over 17 million people. It provides social services and fitness programs, aiming to serve the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of their patrons. The Y, in most neighborhoods across the country, offers a place of community for those who need it most.

Head trainer Pedro Garcia () has worked at the Roxbury Y for three years. He creates and facilitates group training and one-on-one private sessions.

As a Boston native, Garcia understands the importance of giving back to the community that raised him. “I like this particular Y because it is helping a certain demographic that doesn’t necessarily get the most help or can really focus on their health,” he says.

Visit the link in bio.

Story and photos by Ziyu Peng and Isabel Meyers.

The backbone of the Mission Hill community sits in a small alleyway on Tremont Street, a nonprofit organization called ....
10/28/2022

The backbone of the Mission Hill community sits in a small alleyway on Tremont Street, a nonprofit organization called .boston which focuses on inclusive community-building, strengthening the neighborhood’s business district, and preserving Mission Hill’s history.

In September, MHMS celebrated its 25th anniversary, with executive director Ellen Walker at the forefront. Walker says, “I think you’ll find that in Mission Hill, people are much more accepting.”

Visit the link in bio.

Story and photos by .jpg and Rui Sun

Since Nubian Square officially adopted a new name in 2019, the area has experienced a slew of new construction projects,...
10/27/2022

Since Nubian Square officially adopted a new name in 2019, the area has experienced a slew of new construction projects, growing community events such as the weekly farmer’s market––and a global pandemic.

Cecilia Lizotte, owner and chef of , a West African restaurant on Dudley St, said COVID-19 changed what was once a lively community into a “ghost town.” Although many social distancing guidelines have been relaxed, many of Lizotte’s customers are still choosing to get takeout for home. “It’s been very, very difficult trying to get people to come together,” she said. “It’s not as close-knit as it was before the pandemic.”

City plans for Nubian Square promise new commercial and residential developments over the coming years, but as business owners like Lizotte look for what the future holds, she said the present moment feels stagnant in Nubian Square. “I’ve been in Nubian Square now for five years, and everything has just been stagnant,” Lizotte said.

Visit the link in bio.

Story and photos by Elijah Nicholson-Messmer and Chloe Aurard

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