warming center

Story and photos by Diti Kohli Age 54, diabetic, and newly homeless, Rosa spent her first night in the Malden Warming Center on a frigid February evening. In late January, she lost her job as a live-in evening manager of a disabled veterans care facility that gave her only two weeks to vacate her home. Rosa does not receive unemployment benefits from her non-profit ex-employer. She survives off food stamps and has only procured enough insulin to last another month. Without the center, she would be spending her nights on the street. “I’ve always said if people are homeless, there has to be a reason they’re there,” said Rosa. “This is my reason.” According to a report from the Department of Housing and Development, Rosa is among the estimated 20,000 homeless individuals in Massachusetts. Citizens and officials in Malden, alarmed at the number of homeless in the city, have worked together to open a warming center, a place where the homeless can find respite from the winter. The center opened for the winter on Jan. […]