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From YouTube: Freedom House Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Description
Since 1949, Freedom House in Grove Hall has been the place where teens and young adults have gone for extra resources outside of school. Thanks to a $2.5 million renovation of the former Grove Hall Library, Freedom House is now a state-of -the-art center for teens and young adults focused on leadership, academic tutoring, and healthy lifestyles.
A
A
My
name
is
Katrina
Shaw
and
I
have
the
awesome
privilege
of
being
the
CEO
of
this
wonderful
historical,
instant.
Oh
my
god
institution
I
love
you,
you
beat
this
wonderful
institution
called
Freedom,
House
and
I
want
to
welcome
you
to
our
ribbon-cutting
ceremony,
which
has
been
a
long
time
coming,
and
that
in
itself
deserves
a
round
of
applause.
A
There
are
several
people
who
we
need
to
thank
who
made
this
possible.
There
will
be
additional
people
who
will
thank
after,
but
I
definitely
want
to
Tyler.
Could
you
grab
me
a
program?
I'm,
sorry,
I.
Definitely,
I
can't
depend
on
my
memory.
So
that's
why
I
had
to
do
that.
So
I
definitely
want
to
thank
everybody
who
made
this
possible.
The
City
of
Boston
I
want
to
thank
the
building
renovation
team
and,
if
you
can
stand
up,
I
want
to
thank
the
dream.
A
Collaborative
I
want
to
thank
CR
j,
AI
bi
brief
Landscape
Architect
I
want
to
thank
Janney,
Co
Greg
Janie's
here.
I
want
to
thank
sad,
real
estate
and
also
United
housing,
management
and,
obviously
Eastern
bank.
So
if
you
can
give
them
a
round
of
applause,
I'd
appreciate
it.
So
we
won't
be
before
you
long.
A
B
B
B
When
I
first
entered
Freedom
House,
is
there
a
youth
organization
that
provided
I,
provide
the
job
as
from
this
very
place
that
we're
that
there's
no
age
to
have
a
plan,
a
voice
in
a
role
it's
because
of
freedom
else,
I
learned
that
proper
guys
needed
for
when
to
truly
succeed.
The
educate
me
and
coach
planning
work
etiquette
and
just
deconstruct
Eliason
civil
issues
as
well
as
Korean
exchange
I,
desired
that
as
well
as
cream
the
change
that
desire
in
my
community.
B
They
taught
me
that
there
is
no
shyness
in
Korean
the
change
that
you
would
want
to
see.
Most
of
all,
the
show
me
constant
care
and
it
doesn't
up
to
my
character
and
well-being
as
well
as
nurture
me.
A
mindset
they'll
help
me
evolve
as
a
leader
and
citizen
going
through
the
issues
taught
to
my
identity.
B
Free
muscles
always
shown
my
peers
and
I
that
they
believe
in
our
potential
and
desire
to
create
the
best
of
ourselves
from
the
first
time,
I
step
into
this
building.
To
now,
free
Mouse
has
always
felt
like
a
second
home.
Now,
for
my
honor
and
privilege,
let
me
let
me
introduce
the
man
with
the
State.
Police
is
Freedom
House
the
mayor
of
Boston
Massachusetts,
Martin
Walsh.
A
C
Me
just
that,
let
me
just
say
to
Katrina
thank
you
to
Andrew
the
chair
and
everyone
to
Freedom
House.
Thank
you,
Gail
gonna,
be
with
us
today.
Thank
you
as
well
on
behalf
of
myself
and
all
the
elected
officials
later
here.
I
just
want
to
make
sure
this
is
a
job
like
this.
Accordingly,
this
is
a
partnership,
and
it's
a
partnership
where
we
all
work
together
and
I
want
to
stop
by
thanking
City
Council
Tito
Jackson
who's.
This
Corrine
Thank
You
Jackson
feel
great.
What
I
want
to
thank
state
representative
trying
to
Tyler
as
well.
C
One
thing,
city
counts:
I
had
a
Presley
who's
done.
Some
incredible
work
in
our
city,
I
want
to
thank
an
Easter
sabe
Jorge
as
well
who's.
That's
an
incredible
work
and
I
want
to
take
everyone
who
has
the
commitment
to
this
neighborhood
and
all
across
the
city
there's
so
many
people,
I'd
like
to
give
shout
outs
to
you'll,
be
I
want
to
thank
him
for
his
great
work
over
the
years.
Thank
you
for
everything
that
you
doing
for
me.
Different
areas
Wheatley
last
weekend
was
great.
Thank
you.
C
As
well
and
and
everyone
that's
in
front
of
me
quite
honestly,
us
as
elected
officials
that
are
around
you
really
really
a
falling
you'll
lead
in
a
lot
of
ways.
A
lot
of
you
laid
down
the
foundation.
A
lot
of
you
did
the
work
of
this
city,
who
did
the
work
around
the
civil
rights
about
inclusion
and
what
we're
trying
to
do
in
our
city
right
now
is
just
trying
to
trying
to
really
carry
carry
the
torch
that
you
started,
that
you
lit
and
I
want
to.
Thank
you
for
that.
I'm
excited
to
be
here.
C
I
think
we
all
excited
to
be
here
just
over
a
little
over
a
year
after
we
broke
ground
here.
This
is
an
incredible
day
for
the
growth
of
all
community.
This
building
behind
me,
if
you
haven't,
had
the
chance
to
go
through
it.
Yet
when
you
do
it's
beautiful
the
lights,
the
rooms
that,
what's
in
there,
the
technology,
the
history
it's
all
here
and
I
want
to
congratulate
everyone
who
had
something
to
do
with
today.
Freedom
House
has
been
a
cornerstone
of
this
neighborhood
in
Roxbury
and
in
Boston
for
nearly
70
years.
C
Girl's
parents,
Auto
Emilio,
had
a
vision
of
breaking
down
barriers
for
young
people
in
our
city
and
helping
them
achieve
their
dream.
Think
about
that
70
years
that
same
dream
is
happening
today,
they'll
still
same
barriers
that
we
want
to
knock
down
and
happening
today.
We
still
have
to
knock
those
barriers
down
and
that's
why
the
mission-
a
Freedom
House,
has
not
changed.
One
single
bit,
I.
C
Know
that
if
Gil's
parents
were
here
today
and
they're
here
today,
I
know
their
problem,
they're
looking
down
and
they're
very
proud,
and
they
look
around
and
they're.
Seeing
seeing
faces,
they're
seeing
faces
of
people
running
for
office
that
this
place
gave
opportunities
to
this
scene
faces
like
China
tyler's
who
create
opportunities
like
sido
Jackson
like
Ayanna
Presley
like
Sonia
chain,
Diaz
they've
changed.
They
helped
change
that
the
landscape
of
our
city
in
this
country.
I
knew
that
that's
important
for
us
to
remember.
C
I
also
want
to
thank
the
board
at
Freedom
House
for
the
vision
to
turn
the
site
of
the
old
Grove
hall
library
into
something
spectacular.
I
want
to
thank
Sheila
Dillon
I
want
to
thank
Donald
Wright,
a
DND
in
their
team
for
the
great
work
that
they
did
here,
because
it's
important
that
there's
a
partnership
here,
the
growth
of
our
community,
for
your
input
in
this
process.
C
Thank
you
very
much
as
well
and
voicing
your
support
for
a
place
where
the
community
can
certainly
come
together
and
there's
a
beautiful
room
in
here
that,
if
you
take
down
the
two
walls,
you
can
probably
fit
about
300
people
in
here
for
a
community
meeting
which
I
know
we
love
community
meetings,
so
it's
all
I'm
sure
we're
gonna.
Have
it
freedom.
Freedom
house
continues
to
be
an
incredible
community
resource
they're
working
closely
to
close
the
achievement
gaps
and
provide
young
people
with
supports
to
graduate
for
college.
C
C
I
want
to
also
make
sure
that
we
continue
to
help
our
young
people,
so
they
can
continue
get
back
to
our
communities.
Freedom
House
is
an
invaluable
resource
for
our
young
people.
An
invaluable
partner
for
our
city
of
Boston
you're,
helping
us
make
sure
Boston,
is
a
place
of
opportunity
for
everyone.
This
facility
will
continue
will
allow
us
to
continue
to
do
the
work
that
you
are
doing
and
have
an
impact
for
years
to
come.
I
just
want
you
to
think
about
this.
C
C
A
At
Freedom,
House
we've
started
a
tradition
of
giving
little
awards
and
the
first
one
is
called
to
give
back
award.
So
there
are
a
couple
of
other
people
who
are
going
to
get
this
give
back
award,
but
we
like
to
give
you
yours
first
to
remind
you
to
continue
to
give
back
and
all
that
you
do
and
keep
the
mentor
of
Freedom
House.
A
A
As
I
hear
mr.
Jones,
when
I
was
down
in
New
Orleans
somewhere,
and
they
were
thinking
about
doing
this
building
over
there
was
this
young
man
named
mr.
Jones,
who
was
advocating
for
a
match
grant
for
freedom
house
for
mass
development,
and
my
mom
told
me:
don't
ever
forget
to
go
back
and
thank
the
people
when
you
realize
that
they
need
to
be
thanked.
So
I
want
to
thank
you
for
using
your
wherewithal
to
start
this
train
running
and
I.
A
A
D
I
just
want
to
set
the
record
straight.
It
was
a
meeting.
I
was
having
that
Deval
Patrick
about
doing
some
things
for
the
community
in
terms
of
nonprofit
service
organizations
and
all
of
a
sudden.
He
said
to
me:
I
want
to
do
something
for
Freedom
House,
that's
a
historic
place,
and
if
I
could
get
some
funding
to
Freedom
House
I
want
to
do
it.
I
said
really.
He
said
yes
and
I
have
a
way
to
do
it
through
the
mass
development
and
all
that
led
to
a
matching
grant
of
how
many
million.
A
A
We
do,
in
fact
in
Duval
I
spoke
to
him
this
week
and
he
sends
his
regrets
because
he's
traveling,
but
we
have
a
giveback
Award
for
him
as
well,
and
so
we
are
really
grateful
for
Duvall.
I
want
to
take
this
opportunity.
There's
one
person
I
want
to
bring
up
before
we
go,
but
is
there
anybody
from
the
Grove
hall
library
committee
who's
here?
The
original
Grove
hall
library
committee
can
I,
have
a
couple
of
students
come
up
a
student
or
to
come
up
and
help
me
with
something?
A
Would
you
give
these
so
I
want
to
just?
Would
you
give
them
one?
We
just
want
to
give
you
a
small
token
of
our
appreciation,
because
we
recognize
that
this
building
could
have
gone
for
a
lot
of
purposes
if
it's
not
right,
we'll
make
it
right
medium.
Okay,
I
understand,
I
have
the
same
issue.
It's
all
right
today,
we're
all
mediums-
and
so
I
just
want
to.
Thank
you
so
much
for
your
commitment
and
for
helping
us
to
be
here.
A
I
know
there
are
tons
of
people,
they
just
represent
more
people
who
a
lot
of
people,
and
so
those
of
you
who
weren't
standing
up
just
see
me
after
it.
So
it's
alright
I'll
accept
your
shyness
and
you
shall
be
rewarded
accordingly,
but
we
just
want
to
thank
you
for
the
faith
that
you
had
in
Freedom
House,
in
the
commitment
to
our
kids
and
to
in
making
this
space
a
space
that
continues
to
give
back
to
generation.
So.
A
F
This
is
community
changing
work,
life,
changing
work
and
generational
work
that
happens
here
at
Freedom,
House
and
I
was
just
thinking
as
I
was
I'm
hustling
around
the
corner,
because
I
came
over
there
and
I
saw
you
guys
already
started.
I
shoot
I'm
like
I
was
thinking
you
know
at
the
beginning.
At
the
end
of
this
year,
we'll
be
nine
years
that
have
been
in
representing
Roxbury
and
the
larger
community
in
the
state
Senate.
F
F
It's
been
a
long
time
since
I've
been
at
an
event
at
a
community
meeting
in
Freedom,
House
and
I'm,
just
so
thrilled
to
get
a
fix
right
to
be
back
in
here
being
this,
expanded
renovated,
beautiful
new
space,
one
of
my
favorite
favorite
memories
and
so
far
as
a
legislator
actually
was
in
the
old
building.
When
we
had
the
community-based
bill
signing
for
Cori
reform
forever,
it
was
all
get-out
that
day
everyone
was
sweating.
You
know
just
like
pools
of
sweat
in
your
shoes,
but
but
so
much
joy
to
be
there
so
I,
just
I'm.
F
So
looking
forward
to
all
of
the
great
things
to
come
here
in
this
new
building,
and
thank
you
so
grateful
to
all
of
the
leadership,
the
staff,
the
supporters
of
Freedom
House
for
really
keeping
the
faith
during
the
years
when
we
were.
You
know
we
didn't
know
if
you
were
going
to
get
the
new
building
and
now
doing
the
work
on
the
new
building,
so
just
huge
gratitude,
deep,
deep
gratitude
for
really
making
this
happen,
and
the
generations
of
work
past
and
the
generations
of
work
to
come
here
at
Freedom
House.
A
G
G
So
you
know
we're
ecstatic,
because
our
name
is
actually.
We
were
initially
called
the
golden
is
of
Roxbury
and
some
of
the
gold
it
is.
My
mom
was
a
Golden
Ears
and
we
have
history.
Mayor
I
think
we
are
the
oldest
senior
group
in
the
city
of
Boston.
We've
been
told
that
for
many
times
and
then
so,
the
Snowden's
in
miss
Hester
and
other
golden
years
got
together
and
they
were
they
met
and
so
forth,
and
so
we're
still
doing
that
and
we
have
about
over
30
members
who
were
over
90.
G
We
have
one
right
there
that
walks
all
over
the
place.
They
design
her
for
the
ride,
because
she
walks
she's
98
years
old,
and
then
she
had
the
nerve
to
appeal
it,
and
so
now
they
go
five
days
and
six
days
a
week,
cuz
she's
going
somewhere,
but
we
just
saw
one
of
the
things
we
want
to
do
is
continuously
do
the
things
that
the
golden
is
have
been
doing
throughout,
and
we
also
have
an
intergenerational
piece
and
one
of
the
things
we
have
been
asking
ourselves.
What
could
we
do
when
they
open
up?
G
You
know
because
we
had
to
get
out
of
the
other
building,
because
it
was
in
disrepair
and
the
shelburne
took
us
in
and
me
thank
the
Shelburne
for
that,
and
and
so
now
we're
back
home
and
quickly,
one
day
the
young
people
they
having
a
special
event
and
I
mean
the
the
mayor
mentioned
the
phrase
he
said
something
about
struggling,
the
students
were
struggling,
they
were
literally
struggling.
They
were
rolling
some
big
round
tables
that
they
had
rented.
A
Back
but
they
saw
a
need
and
they
tested
this
thing
your
dollars
and
then
backed
it
up,
I
like
it
up,
so
thank
you
so
much.
There
are
two
other
people
I
want
to,
thank
and
and
if
I
miss
anybody
else.
I
apologize
before
I
think
some
really
special
and
incredible
people
as
well,
but
Caleb
Lauren,
is
here
and
I
want
to.
Thank
you
mr.
lorry
publicly,
and
on
this
stage
I
won't
make
you
say
anything.
There
are
also
members
of
the
National
Grid
foundation
here
that
I
would
love
to
come
up.
A
You
won't
have
to
say
anything,
I
promise,
you
I'm
not
putting
you
on
the
spot,
but
I
want
to
thank
you,
mr.
lorry,
because
when
I
came
to
you
and
told
you
that
I
needed
to
raise
additional
money,
you
gave
me
funding,
but
you
gave
it
as
a
match
and
that
cornerstone
match
really
did
spur
additional
funding
as
well,
and
so
I
am
super
grateful
for
your
thoughtfulness
and
for
your
generosity
and
I.
Just
want
to
thank
you
by
giving
you
a
give
back
award.
E
So
it's
an
honor
and
a
privilege
to
really
be
here
on
behalf
of
my
family
on
behalf
of
the
Amelia
Peabody
charitable
fund,
which
also
supported
this
endeavor
and
where
I
am
a
trustee
as
well
and
to
see
some
familiar
names
and
faces,
you'll
be
and
others
that
I've
heard
about
so
much
in
my
lifetime
and
I've
been
told
about
the
Golden
Ears
Katrina
said,
watch
out
for
this
group,
I
have
a
lot
of
clout.
So
congratulations
to
you
all.
A
National
Grid
our
silent
partner.
Thank
you
so
much
all
right.
So
before
we
start
our
dancing,
I
just
want
to
acknowledge
my
board
of
directors,
because
I
see
some
of
you
out
there.
Could
you
please
give
them
a
round
of
applause.
I,
see
Lisa
I,
see
Natasha
I
just
want
to
say
that
this
board
is
a
tenacious
board
that
fights
a
lot
and
they
not
just
they
don't
just
only
fight
for
freedom
house,
but
they
also
I
have
a
hundred
percent
giving
on
my
board.
A
There's
not
one
person
who
sits
on
that
residue
and
more
amazingly
I
have
a
hundred
percent
giving
in
my
staff
there's
not
one
person
who
works
for
Freedom
House.
She
does
not
get
to
free
tonight,
so
I
know
they
really
deserve.
I
have
the
best
the
best
staff
in
Boston.
Thank
you
more
before
10
a.m.
the
most
of
y'all
do
all
day.
They
are
phenomenal
incredible
and
they
keep
coming
back
in
trust
me
it's
not
because
of
the
pain
or
the
benefits.