The Nation - News from July 22, 1988

A group of homeless people agreed to end a 3-month camp-in on the steps of Boston City Hall after the city promised to give them an office and establish a hot line for the homeless. The fledgling advocacy group, called Homefront ‘88, announced the agreement along with city officials in the City Hall lobby. Their bedrolls, cots and mascot dog were still outside. “They have shown how groups become empowered to speak for themselves,” said Ann Maguire, executive director of the city’s Emergency Shelter Commission. Under the agreement, the city will pay six months’ rent, telephone service and supplies for an office at one of the city’s community health centers to conduct advocacy work on behalf of the homeless.