When San Franciscans head to the polls in November, they will be facing a measure that may redefine the city’s social makeup and alter its identity as a free-loving, interestingly offbeat cultural hub. In a city where homelessness is just as much a part of the landscape as the steep streets and trolley cars, Mayor…
Diverting the Homeless for the Sake of Diverson
The other day, an old friend sent me the link to a story from NPR that while not shocking is still sad and a little sickening. It seems that as South Africa was preparing itself for the World Cup, it began to force homeless people from one of the areas in which the event is…
Who is Homeless? The HUD Annual Report to Congress and Homelessness Pulse Project
Counting and categorizing the homeless is a difficult task, both practically and theoretically. Every year or so, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) prepares a report for the Congress—called the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR)—on the state of homelessness in the country. It attempts to do just that: demograph the homeless…
Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Assisting Boston's Teenagers in Need
Teens on the streets of Boston have very critical needs. Unlike many adult homeless persons, these youths are not necessarily there because of socioeconomic reasons. Instead, most end up on the streets as the result of emotional or family dysfunctions. A local agency that effectively meets the critical needs of homeless and runaway youth is…
'Out of This World' Efforts of Mother of 93 Little Wanderers Honored
[img_assist|nid=276|title=|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=640|height=457] This past May, the nation’s oldest non-profit child and family service agency honored a woman who has cared for 93 children at an event that was out of this world. The Home For Little Wanderers held their annual Voices and Visions Gala at The Seaport World Trade Center on May 26th. During this year’s…
Edward Larsen
Edward Larsen has been selling Spare Change News for about the last 8 years, and is currently one of the top vendors. Still, while Ed’s sales numbers remain high he is quick to state that things have been better. “When the economy was good, I was doing pretty well. Not nearly as well now,” Ed…
Natural Born Winners
We frequently hear someone being called a “loser”. Whether it’s meant as a temporary label or a permanent condition, it is a harsh determination and a terrible stigma. Quite often, we hear the homeless and downtrodden labeled as “losers”, which at best seems to be an admission of a lack of concern. Why might this…
Police and Homeless: An Uneasy Relationship
[img_assist|nid=215|title=|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=473|height=640] Matthew Scott Jr., a former handyman, lost everything Christmas Eve of 1999 to a forgotten lit cigar that destroyed all that he had built for himself. The Red Cross told him he was on his own, so for 11 years Scott has been living on the streets of Boston, trying to survive off…
5 Things You Absolutely Must Know About Homelessness
Shannon Moriarty Reprinted with the author’s permission from change.org. Seems everywhere we look these days, the topic of homelessness is making a cameo. Newspapers, blogs, the five o’clock news, even the cover of Vogue! So while we have your ear, world, let us take advantage of this teachable moment to tell you 5 things about…