Spare Change News

Author: Norman Watne

  • Jessica's Story

    According to a 2002 study by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the US Department of Justice there are an estimated 1,682,900 homeless and runaway youth in the United States. It’s a problem we’re never going to be able to solve entirely, especially not with another government program. There is a better…

  • Back to School – Homelessness 101

    To many people, the face of homelessness is the man standing along side of the road asking for money. Unfortunately, that face is changing. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, as many as 1.6 million children are homeless sometime during the year. That means they are living in shelters, motels,…

  • Happy and Healthy: Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program provides

    Norman Wante Spare Change News It began with six clinicians requesting access to area shelters and over the last 25 years has grown into an organization dedicated to delivering quality health care to Boston’s homeless. Founded in 1985, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program has been dedicated to assuring Boston’s homeless community has access…

  • Looking for Shade: Summer Months Tough On Homeless Looking to Beat the Heat

    There seems to be a misconception as to the needs of the homeless during the summer months here in Boston. Day after day I hear people state that the summer is an easy time for the homeless. After hearing statements such as those I feel obligated to inform them as to how rough things really…

  • Trading Places

    Have you ever taken the time to wonder what the homeless really have to experience on a daily basis? I know that you pass them daily as you go to and fro, on you way here and there. You may even stop to give them a couple dollars or offer them a cup of coffee…

  • 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…

  • Life on the Streets of Charlestown

    [img_assist|nid=280|title=|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=480] Charlestown is a small city with a two square mile radius just outside of Boston. The brick sidewalks are known for their historical significance, but what many people don’t commemorate are the several homeless men and women who call Charlestown’s streets home. On the June 13th, after watching the annual Charlestown Bunker Hill Day…

  • 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…

  • Give To The Homeless, Commit a Crime?

    Norman Watne A television station in San Antonio, Texas, recently reported that a local councilman wants to make it a crime to give money to a beggar or homeless person on city streets. Those who open their wallets would be fined. “If there’s no money for the panhandlers, the panhandlers will go away,” said Councilman…

  • History Repeats Itself: Witches Still Outcasts in Salem

    Norman Watne When you think of Salem, Massachusetts, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Witches? goblins or perhaps ghosts? This is the time of year when Salem explodes with all kinds of excitement—Halloween!—with parades and parties galore. But let me tell you, there is a part of Salem much darker than…