Sam Turken

1 day ago | wgbh.org | Sam Turken

June 06, 2025 A Worcester substance use treatment center for teenagers is shutting down at a time when addiction recovery advocates say more treatment programs are sorely needed. Motivating Youth Recovery is a 12-bed center where psychiatrists and nurses provide adolescents round-the-clock detox and stabilization services. Community Healthlink, an affiliate of UMass Memorial Health, runs the program and says it’s the only one of its kind across the state.

2 days ago | wgbh.org | Sam Turken

June 04, 2025 Worcester police have charged City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj with assaulting an officer during a federal immigration operation last month that turned chaotic. Haxhiaj was among about 30 people who confronted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a residential neighborhood as they took a woman into custody. Worcester police say they responded to the scene after receiving calls expressing concerns about the crowd.

3 days ago | wgbh.org | Sam Turken

June 04, 2025 A new tally shows the homeless population in Worcester County jumped nearly 20% over the last year, the fourth consecutive year it’s risen. This year’s count of homeless residents across Worcester County identified a record-high 3,110 people, about 500 people more than last year. The total included nearly 1,300 children, almost 100 veterans and about 500 people who are chronically disabled.

1 week ago | wgbh.org | Sam Turken

May 29, 2025 For nearly two years, Tina Baygboe and her son and daughter have lived at her mother’s small apartment in Worcester. Baygboe, whose children are both under the age of 10, wishes she had her own place. She knows she can afford the rent and upfront fees of apartments she’s come across online. But she’s applied to seven different listings and keeps receiving the same response from landlords: They won’t accept her because of old eviction cases on her record.

2 weeks ago | wgbh.org | Sam Turken

May 22, 2025 Protesters heckled Worcester City Manager Eric Batista during his annual State of the City speech Wednesday night, the latest example of community backlash to a recent federal immigration operation that’s stunned many residents. Batista was barely audible at times while the dozen or so activists in the audience berated him for his response to the operation by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement.