Author: Abby DeRigo
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Gone too soon: Interfaith memorial honors homeless people who passed this year
At the 29th National Interfaith Homeless Memorial Service, people of many faiths, and people who have no faith at all, honored the lives and mourned the deaths of those who left this world behind while enduring hardships most of us can only attempt to understand. The service took place inside Church on the Hill on…
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Massachusetts has highest increase in homeless population in the country
The homeless population of Massachusetts has increased by 14 percent in the last year, according to a recent report from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the report, there are 20,068 homeless persons in the Commonwealth this year, up from 17,565 in 2017. This was the highest increase in the country…
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U.S. Senators and Reps blast Columbia Gas execs at public hearing in Lawrence
Left to right: Representative-elect Lori Trahan, Rep. Nikki Tsongas, Sen. Maggie Hassan, Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Seth Moulton. Photos by author. At a public hearing on Monday morning, U.S. Senators and Representatives from Massachusetts and New Hampshire tore into the executives from the gas company responsible for the fires and explosions…
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Boston law firm sues gas company over death of Lawrence resident
On October 25, a Boston law firm announced their plan to sue Columbia Gas for the death of a teenger during the fires and explosions that rocked the Merrimack Valley in September. The Sheff Law firm will represent the estate of Leonel Rondon, an 18-year-old Lawrence high schooler who was crushed by debris when visiting…
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Editor’s Note: We’ll miss you, Fred Boykin
On Oct. 3, we at Spare Change News learned that longtime vendor Fred Boykin had passed away. While we plan to release a fuller tribute to Fred in the next issue, I wanted to acknowledge Fred, commend his hard work for the paper and make sure our readers — including his customers — heard the…
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After the smoke has cleared: Following a weekend of displacement, Merrimack Valley families still await gas, reimbursement and a return to normalcy
The line outside the Lawrence Senior Center was dozens of people deep the Saturday after a series of gas leaks and fires displaced thousands of families in the Merrimack Valley. Photo: Alejandro Ramirez. Intro: Thursday night evacuation Around three in the afternoon on Thursday, Sept. 13, a detective at Yahaira Ramos’s home in the southern…
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Parents Who Had Kids Torn From Them File Class Action Lawsuit
A group of parents who had their children taken from them by the United States government announced on Thursday, Sept. 6, that they are filing a class action lawsuit against numerous individuals and agencies that have helped facilitate this crisis. At the law firm Todd & Weld LLP in downtown Boston, three parents got…
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The Homeless Empowerment Project is looking for a new board member!!
Treasurer (Volunteer) The Homeless Empowerment Project (HEP) is a not-for-profit corporation with an annual budget of $150,000 and five paid staff positions (all part-time). Every other week for the past 25 years, HEP has published Spare Change News, a street newspaper addressing issues of homelessness, poverty, and social justice in the Greater Boston area. HEP’s mission is to…
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Once again, counter-protesters outnumber alt-right rally in Boston
Counter-protesters outnumbered the alt-right on Saturday. All photos by author. Repeating the scene from last summer, over 300 counter-protesters showed up to outnumber members of the so-called “alt-right” — the umbrella term for a collection of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and internet-immersed right-wingers — at a rally held in Boston’s City Hall Plaza on Saturday. The counter-protesters…
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Boston progresses in goal to end chronic homelessness, despite large inflow over last two years
In a roundtable with the press on August 16, the City of Boston announced that their effort to house the chronically homeless population is seeing results, reducing the population by 20 percent since 2016. Since 2016, the city of Boston has housed 580 chronically homeless individuals — the start of Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s “Boston’s…