Author: Tammy Callanan.
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On the Brink
Tammy Anne Callahan-Callanan Spare Change News My family has lived like gypsies in Salem for many years, in that we move from place to place as employment demands. For the countless families that are low-income, being nomadic relates to not only employment, but also to financial demands: the demands of rent, affordable housing, utilities, clothing,…
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A Saving Grace in Salem, MA Part II
December of 2009 is etched in my mind because my family finally moved into an apartment. At that same time my oldest daughter and her two little boys had also moved into their own place. Though we were excited, I remember our new landlord thinking that for a family to move into an almost 7-room…
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A Saving Grace in Salem, MA: Part I
When my husband and I would feel our stomachs stir with hunger we would walk down to the LifeBridge Shelter in Salem, MA to eat both our lunch as well as our supper. Many times, no matter what time of the day it was, the lines were long — over 300 meals were served daily.…
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Families in need
In 2006, my family was living on the financial edge. With no safety net, we existed week to week and the rent that we owed was increasing dramatically. No matter how hard my husband and I searched, the job market was just not producing for us, until eventually, in February of 2006, we were forced…
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Tammy Callanan: A streets perspective
*Editors note: This article was originally published in the Salem Gazette. Tammy Callanan writes a regular column for the Gazette, and has generously agreed to contribute separate content to Spare Change. First let me introduce myself. I am a grandmother, mother, sister, friend, wife and daughter. I am a Salem native and have experienced being…