Each weekday, thousands of people ride Bus 19 through the heart of some of Boston's poorest neighborhoods. Bound for school, bound for work, bound for grocery stores and soup kitchens. As the state and nation struggle to emerge from the depths of recession, a team of Globe reporters and photographers is traveling the route of Bus 19, chronicling the little-known rhythms of life in a part of the city that engages in the struggle each day.
December 24, 2011
Next stop: Home
Two jobs, one house, a second chance
Every day for the last two years, Debra James has ridden this route — boarding in the morning for her grocery store job in Roxbury then again in the afternoon to another at Walgreens in Coolidge Corner. She gets only a few hours of sleep each night. But she won’t quit or cut back hours. (Patricia Wen, Globe Staff)
December 24, 2011
Hard work, no movement
With pride, humility, she sets aside her dream
Esther Chase left Barbados and came to America to set down roots here in the last phases of her life. She didn’t dream of much, just a house of her own and a few extra dollars saved for life in retirement. Now at age 62, Chase is just running in place, unable to inch closer to her dream. (Meghan E. Irons, Globe Staff)
December 18, 2011
Students' challenges
Brothers seek a way up, out
They make the long commute because they have been promised something by Boston Latin School, something they both desperately want — a better life. Theirs is the kind of Geneva Street story you just don't often hear. (Billy Baker, Globe Staff)
November 6, 2011
The monthly cycle
On the first of the month, lifted by the tide
The Roxbury Mall Save-A-Lot, perhaps more than any other business, sees the wax and wane of the benefits cycle. It can be nearly empty at the end of the month, but on the first, crowds stream in. (Meghan E. Irons, Globe Staff)
September 25, 2011
Leading a new life
For job-seekers, the past is close behind
For men who crossed the line in their younger years, crossing back to the wage-earning world and a more settled life they now crave is far harder than they ever imagined. (Patricia Wen, Globe Staff)
July 17, 2011
At large on a network of need
Pantries, Bus 19 help give woman a lifeline
Iris Soares is one of the regulars on Bus 19, as it rumbles across a broad swath of Boston - poor and prosperous, but mostly poor. Her day takes her from food pantry to food pantry, as she struggles to feed her family. Disability took her from the workforce years ago; getting by remains her full-time job.
(Billy Baker, Globe Staff) Graphic The route
(Billy Baker, Globe Staff) Graphic The route
