Photo by Margarita Dreyer. When a woman walked into homeless shelters in Philadelphia in 2007 and asked residents if they wanted to go for a run, she didn’t know that by 2019 her individual gesture would be a movement. Back on my Feet has grown from one woman to an organization with 13 chapters nationwide.…
Over a third of people leaving prison have no place to go
Imagine for a moment you’re being released from prison after a 12-month sentence for theft. You’re clean, off drugs, it’s been tough, but you’re looking forward to starting a new life. You leave prison and head to the nearest probation service to find out where you’re going to live. Only to find out there’s nowhere…
Winter Arrives Early
As I sit here writing, I realize that the temperature today, this Tuesday in November is supposed to slam down into the teens with a chill factor below 10 degrees. I remember what it was like to be homeless in weather like this and my heart goes out to my brothers and sisters on the…
‘Furnishing Hope’ helps families transition out of shelters
Providing homeless people with a place to live is a huge step on the road to helping them rebuild their lives, but once they’ve moved in they need to fill their new place with the necessities that make it livable and comfortable. Boston based organization Furnishing Hope is working to meet those needs by providing…
Austin expels homeless from under bridge, promises them giant tent
Austin, Texas – The City of Austin plans to erect a giant tent to accommodate roughly 300 homeless people who were evicted from their roadside homes as winter approaches. Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the displacement of the City of Austin’s homeless population from their homes under bridges in the city, using the state’s ownership…
Advocates, Legislators Rally for Rent Control to Protect tenants
Dozens gathered outside the Massachusetts State House on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at a rally in support of legislation that would reinstate rent control in Massachusetts. The state eliminated rent control after Massachusetts residents voted to do so in 1994 by a very slim margin, with 49 percent in favor of keeping it, and 51 percent…
Rapid rehousing: The problems with this solution
Several families who have received rapid rehousing subsidies marched with advocates on May 9, 2019 to voice their concerns about the program. Meeting at the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center on Rhode Island Ave., they marched nearly two miles in the heat to the headquarters of the Washington D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS), where…
Request for ‘Clean Sweep’ Records drags on
Spare Change News reporter Andrew Quemere is trying to get a closer look at “operation clean sweep” through a public records request, but the city has been less than forthcoming so far. The city of Boston is unlawfully dragging its feet in providing records related to the so-called Operation Clean Sweep—a series of police raids…
Cop accused of rape released on personal recognizance
A former Lowell police officer is expected back in court at the end of August for allegedly raping a homeless teenager back in 2016. Kevin Garneau, 49, of Pelham, New Hampshire is facing two counts of rape in connection with an alleged series of sexual assaults of a homeless female while on duty, according to…
Begging ‘professionally’ doesn’t make their poverty and vulnerability any less legitimate
This month, Victoria Police arrested seven people who were alleged members of a professional begging “syndicate”. They were flown in from China on tourist visas. In reporting this story, Australian media generated a considerable amount of public outrage. The idea that people who beg are somehow “faking” homelessness or poverty is one often used in tabloid media. Add…