Am I Serving?

Taylor, a collection of townhouses and apartments, rent is calculated at 30 percent of their income, although one can choose to pay a flat rate as well.

One of the more significant contributors to such inequality has been the ever-growing presence of universities and their students, particularly Northeastern and Wentworth. In 2018, Northeastern’s student newspaper, the Huntington News, reported on a meeting where Roxbury residents and housing activists explained how gentrification threatens generational wealth, small businesses, and family displacement. When I drive to program, Northeastern and Wentworth buildings flicker by, and a sign in the parking lot we stop in is emblazoned with the Wentworth logo as well.

Even though I don’t live “up the hill” — an area largely dominated by undergraduates — I still grapple with the space I occupy in Mission Hill as a Harvard student. Just last year, while living in Dorchester, I reflected on how I benefited from a housing crisis that threatened other people’s homes; when I walk through Mission Hill, I wonder if my personal contributions are beneficial or performative.

Yet I still believe that I have been pushed to engage with the community as much as possible. One of our last in-person events was held in the community center; we set up games in each of our classrooms, inviting students and their families to spend their Saturday evening with us. Pizza for events is ordered from Chacho’s, a local restaurant. If I forget materials for an activity, I’m instructed to go to Fuentes, a local convenience store located a five-minute walk away. And most notably, we support a Junior Counselor program in which students who have aged out of the program can return as paid counselors and receive additional mentoring opportunities.

I haven’t been back to Mission Hill for MHASP since March 2020; we’ve spent the last year adapting our curriculum activities and tutoring strategies to Zoom. But I did return to Mission Hill in the summer, this time entirely as a visitor. I was meeting a friend for lunch, and he suggested a restaurant on Tremont Street, one of the “trendy” places “up the hill” from Mission Main and Alice Taylor. A sign on the door informed me that they were closed for the week.

I breathed a sigh of relief; we left for a restaurant outside of the neighborhood, instead.