Dorchester House

Offering a variety of recreational and healthcare services to the Fields Corner community, the Dorchester House is frequetned by many. Commonly referred to as "Dot House"- the center is located on Dorchester Avenue and is known for its medical facilities, gymnasium, swimming pool, and teen center. 

 As I walk out of the Fields Corner train station I look around to see if I know anyone. I don’t, so I leave and the yelling, screaming, and shouting can be heard from the kids at the Harbor School.  I quickly walk past the kids with my headphones on towards Dorchester Avenue. The smell of food fills my nostrils. Having no money, I can’t stop to get a snack; so I keep walking. Music fills my ears while walking up Adams Street, by the liquor store. I see two guys standing around outside with brown paper bags, they’re probably drunk. I keep walking by Ronan Park, and head towards the side entrance of Dorchester House.

The Dorchester House is mostly known to everyone as a clinic.  What most people don’t know is that the Dorchester House used to be a Settlement House. It was established during the progressive movement in American History, when many conscientious Americans were attempting to cure the ills of an industrial society.  Today, the Dorchester House has evolved into a multi-service center. It has therapists, dentists, doctors, a community center, jobs for teens, a basketball gym, and even a pool. All of these things are in one building!  While most people go there for their health problems, I go there for the gym. It’s convenient because it’s right in Dorchester, in my neighborhood, and most of my friends go there. It's a general chill spot for me and friends.

When I get there, I put my ear to the door to see if anyone is there. I hear people talking and basketballs bouncing. I pound on the door for someone to let me in. As I walk in I can feel the dust from the floor on the bottom of my shoes. It was the one thing I hated about the Dorchester House, the dust. I always hoped that in the future they would renovate the gym, but that didn’t seem like it was going to happen anytime soon. I sit on the couch in the gym, thinking about the long day of school I just had. I let out a big yawn and go downstairs to see if there are snacks in the teen center. I walk into the hallway squinting because of all the dust in the air from the construction. For some reason the fact of me being around it so much made me accept the dust, to me the Dorchester House wouldn’t be the Dorchester House without it. Someday I would like to see the Dot House make gym renovations, as well as improvements to the teen center.  This would make more people want to come there to play basketball with me and get involved. 

As I continue down the stairs to the teen center I wave to the women in the office. When I get into the teen center, I see Marissa and I smile at her.  Marissa works at the teen center and helped me get the My Dot Tour job. As always, she asks how work is going. I stuff two bags of chips, two juices, and an apple into my pockets fridge. I go into the office to greet Iman, Bobby, and Cheryl. I go back to the gym and proceed to the couch. 

By AJ Brown