As I write this, people are reacting to Trump pulling us out of the Paris climate change accord. People are talking about what Kathy Griffin did. Earlier in the week, people were all aglow over the new Boston Bridge program, which will send Boston students to college without them having to pay tuition. As usual,…
Youth On Fire Set to Close in November
Since its opening in 2000, the Youth On Fire center in Cambridge has provided thousands of young adults with a safe, welcoming place to go during the day and whatever resources they need to ensure their mental and physical well-being. By offering services that range from hot meals and educational workshops to HIV and STI…
The Middle Man: Jim O’Heir Talks Emmy Win, Homelessness in Chicago and LA, Upcoming Film
Photo by Cullin Tobin It’s been over a month since his Emmy win, and Jim O’Heir still can’t believe it. The Chicago native scored his new hardware thanks to his heralded guest performance as Matt Cannistra on daytime soap opera legend “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Many praised his performance, but it wasn’t even a…
Invisible Nation: Author Richard Schweid Discusses Family Homelessness
In 2002 Tennessee-born author Richard Schweid found himself checking in to a rundown motel outside of Detroit. Brought there by his research for his 2004 book on transportation in contemporary Cuba, Schweid had no idea that he was about to stumble upon an entire community that exists across the United States hidden in plain sight:…
To thine own self be true: Slaine talks big pharma, music and recovery
Slaine Carroll beat addiction and is now making a name for himself in the Boston music scene. Courtesy photo Slaine Carroll is as embedded in hip-hop as hip-hop is embedded in him. Writing his first rhyme at the age of nine after hearing the Beastie Boys’ “License To Ill,” the Boston native knew he wanted…
Coming together to end homelessness
In the 25 plus years I’ve been involved with homelessness, whether it’s been personal experience or as an activist, the one question I always keep coming back to is: “Why can’t we solve it?” There are probably a million reasons why we haven’t, but it’s not happening, and you’d think that with the wealth of…
Affordable home becomes classroom for vocational students
Photos by Anna Bloxham About a dozen Madison Park High School students donned hard hats at the site of an affordable, energy efficient two-family home that is being built in Roxbury to learn the dos and don’t when it comes to safety in the field of carpentry. The event was organized by the Youthbuild Boston,…
Somerville approves affordable housing waiver
The Somerville Planning Board voted 5-1 to grant the developers of Assembly Row a waiver that allows them to make fewer than 20 percent of residential units in the development affordable as mandated by the Somerville Zoning Ordinance’s “inclusionary housing” rules. Currently there are a total of 1,017 units at Assembly Row, with 890 market…
City HeART puts at-risk artists on Display
Homeless artist Mel poses with his paintings at the City HeART exhibit. All photos: Alejandro Ramirez. The 7th Annual City HeART Art Show and Sale featured the work of artists dealing with poverty, ranging from those struggling with low incomes to the currently homeless. The event took place at the Prudential Center on Saturday, May…
IMMORTAL: Spare Change News is 25-years-old
If anyone had told me or any of the founders that Spare Change News would be here 25 years later, we would have shattered the windows of our old offices with the peals of very loud laughter. Hell, if you had told us at the end of 1992—after we’d moved to Old Cambridge Baptist Church—we…