GBH Daily: Help for homeless women

October 27, 2026

☀️Today will be sunny, with a high near 55. Tonight’s low will be 34 degrees. Sunset is at 5:44 p.m.

Twenty-two years ago today, a homer by Johnny Damon helped the Red Sox overcome an 86-year curse. More on that below. But first: Several years ago, GBH News reporter Liz Neiloss wrote a story about women experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts, and how that population was aging. She focused on a woman named Judith who was living in her car. At the time, there were few options for shelters dedicated to women, and the economic fragility of older women was rising.

When Neiloss heard about a new temporary housing project for women in Lowell, a city that’s been drawing homeless individuals from around the region, she saw it as an opportunity to revisit the topic. Unfortunately, the number of women experiencing homelessness appears to be rising. The new shelter in Lowell is a small step toward filling an enormous need, not just for overnight shelter for women but also for temporary housing that provides some stability as they seek permanent affordable housing. Read her story about the project.

Four Things to Know

1. Upgrading New England’s old buildings to handle AI: New England has dozens of small data centers, some of which are decades old. With the increasing use of artificial intelligence, these facilities could soon be upgraded to handle AI computing. The changes can be hard to see from the outside and, for opponents, even harder to stop.

For instance, right off the highway in Trumbull, Conn., sits a set of large red-brick buildings that has been around since the 1960s. Right now, they are in the middle of a major upgrade, and local residents like Richard White have some concerns.

“It could be a very large AI data center from a square footage point of view,” said White, who co-leads a group of concerned residents, known as the Trumbull AI Data Center Watch group. “It’s currently small. We’re okay with it remaining small, maybe, with the right regulatory environment. We don’t want it to be bigger, and we don’t want more.”

2. Central Mass. school settles racist bullying complaint: A school district outside Worcester has settled a civil rights discrimination complaint filed two years ago by the family of two Black students who alleged months of racial bullying and harassment. Officials from Millbury Memorial Junior/Senior High School will pay the family an undisclosed amount and has agreed to revamp its policies on addressing discriminatory-based harassment in the school, according to Lawyers for Civil Rights, the Boston legal nonprofit that represented the family of students Melody and Kamora Dabney.

“This was never just about my daughters. It was about standing up for every child in the district who has experienced racism, bullying, or discrimination and felt unheard, and making sure their voices matter too,” Trusha Vilvar, the mother of the two girls, told GBH News.

3. Groups sue Trump administration over refugee policies: Advocacy and resettlement groups, including several in Massachusetts, have sued the Trump administration over three policies that block refugees from obtaining green cards, subject them to additional vetting, and accelerate the termination of their legal immigration status.

The class action lawsuit names four refugee plaintiffs, including one from Massachusetts. Lida A., a pseudonym used in the complaint, is a 27-year-old refugee from Afghanistan. She worked for a U.S.-funded organization there and fled after the Taliban takeover.

4. State Police Academy training resumes with reforms: The Massachusetts State Police Academy began training with a new set of reforms after the death of 25-year-old Enrique Delgado-Garcia, who died following a boxing exercise at the academy just over two years ago. This will be the first class to undergo training under the new guidelines. Among the changes: the title of drill instructor will no longer be used, and comprehensive standards will provide a better framework to evaluate who is ready to graduate.

How the Curse of the Bambino was shrugged off in remarkable fashion 22 years ago today

By Edgar B. Herwick III, host of The Curiosity Desk

The Milwaukee Brewers have gotten off to a strong start in this year’s World Series, leading the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0. The Brew Crew have never won a championship in their 58 seasons in the league. Or perhaps “leagues” is more accurate, as they are one of the few teams in baseball that has competed in both the American and National Leagues. Another curious fact: The Brewers actually began their history with a different name in a different city. They started out as the Seattle Pilots for just a single year in 1969, a largely forgotten mini-chapter in baseball’s long history. It’s hard to remember now, but there was a time when baseball fans throughout the Boston area would have identified with what the folks in Milwaukee are experiencing.

That time is no longer.

In the 21st century, Boston’s four major men’s sports teams, the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox, have won a combined 13 championships. That includes four for the Red Sox. It’s been a remarkable stretch of success that has earned Boston the nickname “Titletown” in some quarters.

But that was all in the future on this day, Oct. 27, 2004, when Johnny Damon hit a 2-1 pitch over the fence in right to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the World Series. By then, the once-seemingly impossible was beginning to look inevitable. The Sox, who were nursing an 86-year championship drought, were up three games to none in the series and had bested the Yankees in historic fashion in the ALCS, coming back from a 3-0 deficit in what many still consider the greatest comeback in sports history.

The Damon home run was all the Sox would need. They would win the game 3-0, completing the sweep, earning their first World Series cCrown since 1918, and setting off a celebration across the Boston area nearly beyond description.

The next day, a special “Victory Edition” of the Boston Globe ran the simple and effective headline: YES!!!

Bob Hoeler’s story in that edition of the paper summed it up. It started: “Hail the lovable idiots. Bless the baseball gods. Raise a cup to the good souls in Red Sox lore, from Ted Williams and Joe Cronin to Gary Waslewski and Pumpsie Green, who chased but never captured the game’s greatest prize. The Red Sox are champions of the world.”

Across GBH:

📻 LISTEN: Boston Public Radio, 11 a.m., on GBH 89.7 FM: A panel on second-hand stores. Delia DeVito of Habitat for Humanity and Andrea Shapiro of Second Chances will discuss how these two nonprofits are bringing people together and helping low-income communities.

🧐LISTEN: The Curiosity Desk, 1 p.m., on GBH 89.7 FM: Paul Ambruso and John Gehre from Badger Technologies talk about the origins of Marty, that googly-eyed robot that’s been patrolling Stop & Shop aisles since 2019.

🎨 LISTEN: The Culture Show, 2 p.m., on GBH 89.7 FM: Aaron Tang, moderator of PBS’ Breaking the Deadlock, talks about the latest episode AI: Who’s In Control?

📺WATCH: Finding Your Roots: The Pioneers, 8 p.m. on GBH 2: Discover how Neil Patrick Harris, Gloria Steinem, and Sandra Cisneros are connected to pioneers who broke new ground.

📺WATCH: Breaking the Deadlock: AI: Who’s in Control?, 9 p.m. on GBH 2: A panel of thought leaders explores AI through challenging hypothetical scenarios: the choices local communities make, privacy, and policing, and AI’s impact on our lives.

📺WATCH: In Pursuit: Lessons in American Leadership, 10 p.m. on GBH 2: The Retro Report brings leadership lessons learned from presidents and first ladies to life.

JOIN US THURSDAY: Stories from the Stage: Close Encounters, On Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at GBH Studios, join us for an entertaining night of storytelling. Some encounters last only a moment but stay with us forever. Hear three storytellers share their experiences.

COOK: Crispy Skin Salmon from The Life of Loi

🎯PLAY: Can you guess how much Antiques Roadshow finds are worth? Test your appraisal skills with our daily game.