community

On a crisp spring evening in early May, several dozen people from all ages, backgrounds and walks of life gathered in Simmons Hall, an eye-catching MIT residence hall designed by Steven Holl. Inside the apartment of an MIT professor, the group of strangers observed artworks, ate dinner together and engaged in meaningful discussions about their joys, their conflicts and their traumas.

For more than 60 years, 14 Crawford St. was home to Freedom House, a social service agency that now focuses on providing academic support to youths. But after years of delayed maintenance, the building needed more work than the nonprofit could reasonably afford to perform on the building, which formerly housed a yeshiva.