Somerville artist Sean Shinnock is participating in a new mental health awareness and anti-stigma campaign expected to reach several million  people.

He, along with musicians and librarians, fashion designers and fitness instructors, actors, athletes and artists, moms, dads, sisters and brothers—all of whom volunteered for the campaign and all of whom have all been affected by mental illness and its stigma—are brought together in a beautiful and compelling new photographic exhibit that debuted Friday, December 9 at Logan International Airport in Boston. The 235-foot gallery is located between Terminals B and C, and plans are already underway to install similar exhibits at other airports. For those who won’t be traveling through Boston in the near future, the participants’ photos and stories can be seen on the campaign’s website, deconstructingstigma.org.

On the current episode of Somerville Neighborhood News…

• The Green Line Extension is back on track with some slight adjustments to the original plan.
• The City of Somerville forms a partnership with the Concussion Legacy Foundation to help prevent youth concussions.
• Marijuana is legalized in Massachusetts.
• A local nonprofit has received a 10 million dollar grant to build a super school in Somerville.
• SCATV invites its neighbors into the studio to record holiday greetings.

12 special needs students took part in and graduated from Triangle’s 2016 IMPACT:Ability program this week, where they learned vital self-protection skills aimed at empowering and enabling them for better educational opportunities.

By Ariana Colozzo

On Tuesday morning, 12 students in two classes at Somerville High School graduated from Triangle’s 2016 IMPACT:Ability program. As people with disabilities are much more likely to face bullying, abuse and other significant barriers than those without disabilities, IMPACT:Ability works to empower these individuals by giving them the tools they need to lead safe and productive lives.

Part 3:  How the Democratic Party betrayed the working class

By William C. Shelton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

The Democratic Party is the oldest political party on the planet, and protecting poor and working people became its historical mission. It sided with slave owners and their ideological heirs well into the 20^th Century. But its New Deal, Fair Deal, and Great Society programs uplifted working people, outlawed de jure racism, and created what we think of as the middle class.

Staffers from Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services donated more than 50 gifts for local children, as part of an annual toy drive in collaboration with Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). The staffers purchased wish-list items provided CHA social worker Julie Ain. ~ Photo by Nathan Lamb

By Nathan Lamb

Staffers from Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) are stepping-up to help local children in-need this holiday season.

Coordinated in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) the SCES gift drive is providing more than 50 presents for children from eight local families. SCES Director of Clinical Services Annie Fowler said it’s a relatively new tradition that the agency has wholeheartedly embraced.

~Photos by Claudia Ferro

The East Somerville Community School and the Somerville Public Schools Music Department presented The East Somerville Community School Winter Concert 2016 on Friday, December 16 in the ESCS auditorium. Students in K through 8 grades participated in the concert.

By Jim Clark

Police officers were dispatched to City Hall, at 93 Highland Ave., in the early morning hours of December 17 on reports of a motion alarm having been set off in the building.

Upon their arrival, the officers checked the perimeter of the building, including all accessible windows and doors but reportedly found nothing out of the ordinary. An audible alarm was reportedly sounding, but reset before the officers left the scene.

The Somerville Police Department is seeking help in identifying a suspect in the robbery of an elderly man on Monday afternoon at the Citizens Bank on Broadway. The suspect then fled on foot down Langmaid Ave.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

This past weekend I attended an event in Boston called Christmas in the City. The holiday party (thrown by the non-profit, all volunteer organization of the same name) treated approximately 4,000 kids and their families living in the Greater Boston region’s homeless shelters to a much-deserved holiday party. This wasn’t any ordinary holiday party. In addition to handing out 10,000 gifts, there was a stage with live entertainment, a visit from Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause, a parade of Disney and comic book characters, a Winter Wonderland area with carnival rides and games, and a variety of health screenings.

~Photos by Claudia Ferro

On Saturday, December 17, residents and visitors took part in the Somerville Arts Council’s Illuminations Tour.

Participants gathered to celebrate the folk artistry of residents who transform their houses and yards with lights, illuminated ornaments, and shrines of devotion and fantasy.