In the West Broadway Homes complex of South Boston, there is a small community garden that laid dormant and overgrown for years. Led by a dedicated property manager, and a group of caring neighbors, the garden was revitalized into a space for the entire community to enjoy. Community members knew they deserved a space to gather, grow food, connect with neighbors and create new memories. All across South Boston, if you know where to look, there are resident-led projects fostering joy, connection, and power, with the help of community partners like South Boston En Acción.
Formally established in 2008, South Boston En Acción (SBEA)’s mission is ‘to relieve the poor, combat community deterioration, advance education, and promote social welfare and leadership potentials of low-income households in and around the City of Boston, Massachusetts.’ SBEA is a resident-led organization, rooted in South Boston’s public and affordable housing communities, particularly West Broadway, Mary Ellen McCormick, and Old Colony. In the words of SBEA’s Executive Director Mercy Robinson, the organization “grew from residents recognizing that too many decisions affecting our communities were being made without the voices of the people most impacted by them.”
The organization’s priorities are broad, including everything from public space and community development, to health, wellness and food access, to youth programming and women’s empowerment. As Mercy explained, “the challenges families face are interconnected;” there is no one size fits all solution to improve the lives of community members, and there is no one leader who can bring that change on. This is why alongside the provision of community-building programming for youth, families, and individuals throughout South Boston, SBEA prioritizes the facilitation of opportunities for residents to become community leaders and to become comfortable advocating for themselves and their neighbors.
First funded in 2022, South Boston En Acción is now in their fifth and final year as Lenny Zakim Fund grantee partner. Speaking on her experience over these five years, Mercy vocalized, “[LZF’s support] has been meaningful to us because grassroots organizations are often closest to residents and understand what is happening on the ground, but we do not always have the same infrastructure or access to resources as larger institutions. Having LZF believe in and invest in resident-led work helps organizations like ours continue to grow and strengthen our communities.”
The organization is run by a small but dedicated staff and board, and an incredible team of residents and the community leaders who show up, volunteer, organize and advocate on behalf of the neighborhood they call home. Once a volunteer, Mercy took over the helm of leading SBEA as Executive Director in 2021 and led the organization with a strong vision and a caring heart through growth, challenges, and most recently, grief. In the past year, the organization has grieved the loss of three community leaders, each of whom had an incredible impact not just on South Boston En Accion’s work, but on the community as a whole. Last winter, they lost Gladys Bruno, Board President of South Boston En Acción. Gladys shaped the organization’s domestic violence, women’s health, and community engagement work, pushed the team to keep going through tough times, and committed herself to creating better opportunities for residents of South Boston.
Earlier in 2026, South Boston unexpectedly lost Kimberly Parker, property manager of West Broadway Homes, resident advocate, and the driving force behind the revitalization of the aforementioned West Broadway community garden, which is now named in her honor. Most recently, the team said goodbye to Carol Sullivan, who dedicated much of her life to advocating for her neighbors, and ensuring their voices were heard, particularly the residents of Mary Ellen McCormick. Speaking on these three immense losses, Mercy shared, “Losing Gladys, Kimberly, and Carol in such a short period has been incredibly difficult. But it has also strengthened our determination to make sure everything these women brought to our communities does not simply fizzle out. Their energy remains with us. Their lessons, advocacy, resilience, and love for their neighbors continue to carry us forward.”
Pictured from left to right: Former SBEA Board President Gladys Bruno, a community event organized by Kimberly Parker, Carol Sullivan (left)
As they work to uphold the legacies of leaders who have been champions for South Boston for decades, SBEA is focused on developing young leaders across South Boston. The organization is committed to not just hosting programming for youth, but to create spaces where young people feel safe to learn, try new things, and take on leadership roles. As the neighborhood of South Boston undergoes continuous change and marginalized communities are being targeted and underrepresented in decision-making, the SBEA team knows that it is imperative that public housing residents can have a seat at the table and speak on behalf of their homes and neighbors.
Looking ahead at the work to come, SBEA is calling upon residents across Boston and peer grassroots organizations to support their work with the City of Boston and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surrounding Boston’s coastal resilience. As a costal neighborhood, communities like South Boston have a great deal at stake with the rise of climate change and coastal storms. Calling upon the greater LZF community, Mercy stated, “I encourage [Bostonians] to take a moment to learn about the project… We really want to push toward being a more proactive community rather than a reactive one. We should not have to wait for a major storm or disaster before asking whether our neighborhoods were prepared, whether our most vulnerable residents were protected, or whether community voices were included.”
Through Mercy’s half a decade leading South Boston En Acción and the countless projects and programs she has brought to fruition, the thing she is most proud of has remained the same: “watching residents begin to recognize themselves as leaders.” She has watched community members come to the organization to attend a social event and grow into community advocates, unafraid to take up space in conversations with organizations, developers, or government agencies. “We invite the LZF community to come experience the South Boston that exists beyond what people traditionally associate with the neighborhood,” she asserted. “Our public and affordable housing communities are home to incredible families, young people, immigrants, longtime residents, and community leaders who are deeply invested in their neighborhoods.”
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Learn more about South Boston En Acción’s work on their website. Learn more about The City of Boston’s climate resilience project and support SBEA’s efforts to protect our coastal neighborhoods. SBEA is always looking for partnerships with people and organizations working in youth development, women’s empowerment, community health and wellness, food access, arts and culture, environmental resilience, and resident leadership. If interested, reach out to the SBEA team at general@sbeaccion.org.