Before Martin Luther King’s tragic death 50 years ago this month, he had begun organizing what he would call the Poor People’s Campaign. The focus was to bring economic justice to all poor people regardless of their race. Though the campaign continued after King’s death, it never had the success he envisioned. Now 50 years…
The Ruins of Pahokee
Suddenly the dreams come. For a second there is the face of Ar Lain Ta laughing and then I am back in Pahokee, Fla., with my wife. She stares at me with her giant eyes, the corners of her full lips are turned down, she is dark with the bite of the tropical sun as…
Feeling Hopeful: Reflections of the Inspiring March for Our Lives Event
I arrived late to the March For Our Lives event last Saturday. Traffic and errands kept me from being on time, and I couldn’t even find the person I was supposed to meet there. Still, it was inspiring. Let me back it up here for a second. If you haven’t been paying attention, the March…
Treat Homelessness Like the Health Issue It Is
Last spring a group of students, led by their Professor Dr. Debra Harkins, came up with Bill H.3933, which is based on an idea out of Hawaii that says homelessness should be treated as a medical condition; this could allow doctors to write prescriptions for housing. I know, it sounds far fetched, but when you…
Free From Heroin: A Daily Fight
I have been drug and alcohol free now for almost 15 years. Does the heroin still call to me? To be honest, at times it does. As a matter of fact, after almost four years clean, I relapsed and used heroin for another year and two months. An eternity in hell. How did that happen?…
Finally, I Am Where I’m Meant to Be
Saundra came to Rosie’s Place about six years ago, at a low point in her life. Circumstances had led her to lose her housing, and she made the wrenching decision to separate from her teenage son while she became homeless and went through the process to find new housing for them both. She says that…
Black or White, They’re All Just Kids
A couple of weeks ago, not long after the school shooting in Florida, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesh made this statement while speaking at the CPAC meeting: “Now I’m going to say something that some people will say is controversial. So I’ll say it slowly so all the people in the back can hear me loud…
Let Her Rock
She was leaning over the railing at the luggage conveyor. That was the first time I had seen my mother in over two years. I had my luggage in my hand and came around her from behind. Surprised that she hadn’t seen me yet. Wondering why she hadn’t seen me waiting for the luggage…
Where Are You?
During the holidays the United Nations released a report on poverty in the United States of America, and it wasn’t pretty. This should have been a major topic of discussion in the news, but it wasn’t. It’s a story that should have been a cause for alarm, but it wasn’t. It should have sent shivers…
Know Hard Times or Homelessness? We’d Love You to Work For Us!
What does the Trump Era mean for Spare Change News? In the simplest terms, it means that we as an organization feel called to think bigger. The original vision of the Spare Change founders to “build a bridge between the haves and the have nots” takes on a new urgency today as current events suggest…