FALL RIVER It’s hard enough for kids in the time of COVID-19 not to get caught up in the thoughts of what they are missing in their final years of high school, but a group of Durfee high friends decided that they’d take on a positive project, collecting and distributing items to help the homeless.
And last week, after months of collecting clothes, food, blankets toiletries, and anything else they could get their hands on, the four friends drove a U-Haul full of donations to the First Step Inn homeless shelter.
Meet Summa Slater, Annika Lewis, Trinity Rodriguez and Dakota Patin, who dubbed themselves the Fall River Four.
FALL RIVER With the help of federal COVID-19 funding, the city is taking a new approach to combat homelessness: reaching out to the homeless and bringing them to the services they need.
“In years past, we had all these homeless people and we didn’t know how to get right to them. We waited until after they asked for help. Now, we go to them and tell them we are here for you if you need us,” said Niki Fontaine, who along with her partner, Marc Pires, are the two new full-time homeless outreach workers hired by the city’s Community Development Agency.