Spare Change News

Author: Tom Benner

  • Down and out in Harvard Square: Warm weather brings return of homeless ‘travelers’

    Tom Benner Spare Change News Maxine Brandeis came to Harvard Square for the same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks — because that’s where the money is. “The police are more tolerant of panhandling here than in other places we’ve been,” said Brandeis, 21, who is spending a few weeks in the Square with her 25-year-old…

  • Spare Change News Story Trade

    In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Spare Change News, StoryStream conducted a storytelling session with many of the homeless vendors. They talked about their experiences selling the paper on the streets of Cambridge — what it means to them to be part of the business, what their experiences have been, and their views of…

  • PATRICK ADMIN OPPOSED TO SENATE AMENDMENT CHANGING SHELTER ELIGIBILITY

    From State House News Service: With the Senate ready to begin debate on its fiscal 2013 budget Wednesday and a majority of senators apparently backing an amendment to eliminate tighter restrictions on shelter eligibility for homeless families, Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development Aaron Gornstein said the Patrick administration is urging the Senate to reject…

  • MAJORITY SUPPORT SEEN FOR SENATE HOMELESS SHELTER AMENDMENT

    From State House News Service: A Senate budget amendment that eliminates tighter restrictions on shelter eligibility for homeless families has attracted majority support in that branch a day prior to budget debate, with 22 senators signing on in support. The Senate budget, released from the Ways and Means Committee last week, restricts to four “narrow”…

  • Editorial: A Fight Over Scarce Resources

    The Patrick administration and homeless advocates are at odds for the second consecutive year over how scarce funds for homeless programs will be spent in the next state budget. The administration wants to limit the amount of money it spends on homeless shelters and motels, and move the savings into permanent housing and the support…

  • Heroin Addiction: An Illness

    By Marc D. Goldfinger A chill ran through my body as I read of the murder of Barbara Coyne of Boston, 67 years old, allegedly by a young heroin addict known as Timothy Kostka, only 27 years old. Violence always did make me ill, especially violence that was irrational and had no valid purpose. I…

  • AMERICA: A New Poem by A.D. Winans

    By A. D. Winans Drummed out of the infantry of death I came back to you carrying the poems of my soul opened the door of life and found only death inside America I have read the State of the Union and listened to the state of the econom in a state of hysteria America…

  • Frederica M. Williams: On Expanding a Legacy and Health Facility

    Nakia Hill Spare Change News Dressed in a two-piece suit and pumps, Frederica M. Williams, President and CEO of Whittier Street Health Center, is making her mark on health care in Roxbury. Williams is contributing to a legacy that her beloved father asked her to carry out before he passed away from diabetes. “My father…

  • Welcome to our new website!

    Thank you for visiting the brand new Spare Change News website. Please watch this space for news and developments about Spare Change News and our parent organization, the Homeless Empowerment Project. We encourage communication with our readers. Please let us know what you think of our new website, your thoughts about our news coverage, or…

  • NEW STATE FORECLOSURE HOTLINE RECEIVING UP TO 300 CALLS A DAY

    By Michael Norton STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MAY 3, 2012….Distressed Massachusetts residents have pounded a week-old state hotline with as many as 300 calls a day seeking assistance to prevent their homes from being foreclosed upon. “We’ve gotten about a 1,000 phone calls,” Attorney General Martha Coakley told Fox 25 during an…