Spare Change News is proud to present the second installment of its new monthly feature, “In Their Own Words,” which highlights the work of writers who meet at Rosie’s Place. In late 2014, Rosie’s Place, a community center for Boston’s poor and homeless women, started a memoir workshop. The intention was to have the guests,…
The Doomsday Clock
The Doomsday Clock is calculated by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. It first appeared in 1947 when it evolved into a magazine from a newsletter. The Doomsday Clock symbolizes the urgency of nuclear and other dangers, as determined by the broader scientific community, which is trying to communicate the level of danger to the…
Rising street paper star found dead on the street
Community organizer, activist, and editor-in-chief of the world’s newest street paper Raven Canon was found dead under a highway pavilion in Colorado Springs. On March 4, at 9:30 a.m., a homeless woman was found unresponsive on the streets of Colorado Springs, wrapped against the 29°F cold in a blanket. Raven Canon was at least the…
OUT ON HER OWN: A Story of LGBTQ Youth Homelessness
Photo by Mike DeSocio. Author’s Note: The central character in this story, Liniște, asked that she be referred to by a pseudonym for safety reasons. I met Liniște in September and spent five months following her throughout various parts of her life, closely observing her experiences with homelessness and sexuality. This approach seemed most appropriate…
Goodbye Harvard Square?
Late last week, I found out about a meeting taking place at Cambridge City Hall held by the Cambridge Historical Commission regarding the controversial proposal to gut the buildings that house the Curious George bookstore and Urban Outfitters and essentially turn it into a mall. I looked forward to the meeting with some excitement because…
Paying The Price
About two weeks ago, my chest started bothering me. I couldn’t really describe the feeling; it was like an itching across the inside of my chest. I didn’t know whether it was my heart or my lungs. When I was 11 years, I started smoking Camel non-filters and smoked regularly from then until my last…
Remember Them?
As I sit here putting together another column, the city of Boston and the entire state is being hit with our first real winter storm of the season. I can’t help but think of the homeless caught out in it—just this very morning, I saw a video of a group of homeless people and advocates…
“Norse Mythology” by Neil Gaiman: A Book Review
Neil Gaiman respects the old gods, and that’s why he’s the proper man to write their tales. Gaiman did not just read tales that modern men have written to decipher the old god’s realities. He went back and studied the original translations of Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda and the verses of the Poetic Edda, which…
Let Them Eat Cake!
On January 21st 2017, the day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the new President of the United States, a news item came out about The Inaugural Cake. The celebrity baker Duff Goldman, owner of Charm City bakery in Baltimore, and the star of the television show Ace of Cakes, took to Twitter for a…
“American Carnage:” Trumpism and the Nationalist Turn
President Donald Trump gave his inaugural address this week. In it he painted a dystopian, apocalyptic landscape in America where factories were tombstones and people were wandering hungry and homeless. It was dark image of America and the world: a strange image given that American income has risen, unemployment has dropped, 20 million more Americans…