Our Stories
Every year approximately 1,400 people participate in EMPath housing, education, career development, and family support programs. Each person brings a unique set of experiences, accomplishments, needs and challenges to his or her journey to economic self-sufficiency. In that journey, many find their voices for the first time. Together, they sound a powerful call for change.
Close to Home: Reflections on Poverty, Perseverance and Promise
Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up in South Boston’s Old Colony Housing Project, which is also the home base for CWU’s Career Family Opportunity program. As a son of a single mom who found it a struggle to keep her family together, learning about CWU hit home for Michael. He has led a yearlong workshop to teach CWU participants how to write about their own experiences and to find their voices so that they may become better leaders and more powerful advocates for themselves and for others. The written memoirs produced during this project are the result of months of contemplation, writing, editing and rewriting. These five authors have put pen to paper and shared some of the moments that are fueling their determination to face and overcome the challenges that poverty brings. Learn more about the memoir release event and the mixed media installation of their portraits and works, accessible during Boston City Hall hours from Monday, June 4 through Tuesday, June 30, 2015. Or, Join our mailing list to be informed about memoir release events and gallery installations throughout the City. THE MEMOIRS Click the flip book below to view the Close to Home book full screen, or download a .pdf copy here. USE YOUR DISCRETION: Close to Home contains some adult language, mature situations and graphic accounts of violence, and may not be suitable for some readers.