The former Pittsfield resident and transgender activist was murdered Sunday in Boston. The vigil is being organized by Berkshire Pride, her former workplace the Elizabeth Freeman Center, and Christopher Liljeholm, who has been involved in Berkshire Pride events. Jahaira was a one of a kind, and just so special, said Helen Moon, the center s development and communications coordinator and Ward 1 councilor. The Berkshire community and the LGBTQ-plus community, we re not the only ones that have a significant loss, I really believe that just the community at large, we are all at a loss for having lost Jahaira. DeAlto, 42, and Fatima Yasin, 27, were reportedly stabbed to death in DeAlto s Dorchester home. Yasin s husband, Marcus Chavis, 34, was arrested in the murders.
DeAlto, 42, and Fatima Yasin, 27, were reportedly stabbed to death in DeAlto s Dorchester home. Yasin s husband, Marcus Chavis, 34, was arrested in the murders. DeAlto was a counselor for domestic violence and sexual assault victims, including at the Elizabeth Freeman Center and was most recently Safelink coordinator for Casa Myrna, a shelter and support services provider for domestic abuse survivors in Boston s South End. She spoke frequently on transgender and social justice issues and had been a board member of Berkshire Pride and the Freeman Center s LGBTQIA+ Access Project. Jahaira was a loyal friend, a fierce advocate, and a mother to many. Her unconditional love was felt by all who met her and her kind and funny spirit left its mark on the Berkshires from the classrooms at Berkshire Community College to the offices of Elizabeth Freeman Center, from helping launch the first Transgender Day of Remembrance and Berkshire Pride Festival to being all the th
Boston Sees Decline In People Without Shelter, But Domestic Violence Cases Are Up
Volunteers talk to a sleeping homeless man in South Station duing the annual point-in-time homeless census.
Craig Lemoult / WGBH News
Thanks to what City Hall says is more than $9 million in rental relief over the last year, homelessness in Boston is down by as much as 25% compared to before the pandemic.
The decline is measured by the city s annual homeless census, which offers a one-day snapshot of those without shelter. This year s census, released Tuesday, was conducted on Jan. 27.
There is, however, bad news: The number of households where someone fled domestic violence doubled, from 24 cases to 48 cases.
A Chocolate Dream come true for Newton mom, daughter
Harper Wayne/Correspondent
Wicked Local
A Chocolate Dream, run by two Newton residents, is one of the two dozen women-owned businesses in Belmont.
The chocolate store opened at 68 Leonard St., in September 1995. Twenty-five years later, the store has been touched by three generations of women.
Vicki Frassica owns A Chocolate Dream with her mother, Mary Nielsen, both from Newton, while Frassica’s daughters, Lexi, and Isabel, work at the store.
Frassica wrote a paper about owning a candy store while in college and said she had always dreamed of owning her own business.