I hope that this message finds you healthy and safe in the midst of all that is going on throughout our city, Commonwealth, country and the world.
Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly, Boston (LBFE) stands with our Black neighbors and friends.
The latest horrible tragedy in Minnesota is unfortunately just one of many painful moments illustrative of years of embedded racism, discrimination, hate and injustice that have added up over time and driven divisions in our society and led to both peaceful and violent anger, unrest and fear — perhaps only to be compounded by a deadly pandemic that has asked that we sacrifice many face-to-face interactions and connections and further distance ourselves from one another.
As an organization that spends a lot of time supporting lower-income older adults in Boston’s public senior housing facilities, we see everyday the overwhelming toll that these collective years of injustice can take on a person’s life. Isolation, loneliness and discrimination unfortunately occur on many levels — race, ethnicity, age and income levels to name a few.
It has always been our mission at LBFE Boston to offer our programs and friendship without charge and without regard to race, gender, creed, nationality, or sexual orientation. We seek to do so by breaking down barriers and bringing people of all races, ages and genders together to create human connections, understanding, compassion, care.
But we will also be the first to acknowledge that there’s more we can do as an organization to contribute to the broader conversation with our colleagues at the City of Boston and other LBFE chapters, and to support those we serve. We hope others will likewise use this time as an opportunity to reflect, heal, and join in solidarity as we all strive to do better as a community, and as friends.