Category: Voices from the Streets
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“Darktown” by Thomas Mullen: A Book Review
Atria Books—An Imprint of Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 “I must tell you, it was not easy for me to raise my right hand and say, ‘I, Willard Strickland, a Negro, do solemnly swear to perform the duties of a Negro policeman’—Officer Willard Strickland, Atlanta Police Department,…
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Two Years
By the time you read this, the second anniversary of the closing of Long Island Shelter will have come and gone without much fanfare. Yes, there was a rally by the Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee. A very well-done and well-attended one at that. We’ve even managed to arrange an upcoming meeting with the state’s secretary…
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Homeless Empowerment Tip: The Boston Public Library’s Central Library
When you’re shunned by family and friends, you find yourself in a shelter. The lights of the shelter are turned on at 5.30 in the morning. Always 5.30 in the morning. You’re awakened by a smell that no man or woman should ever encounter. A foul mix of body odor, alcohol and dirty laundry. This…
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Dark Matter by Blake Crouch: A Book Review
Crown Publishers, an Imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. www.crownpublishing.com “What might have been and what has been point to one end, which is always present. Footfalls echo in the memory Down the passage which we did not take Towards the door we never opened.”—T.S. Eliot…
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My Mistake
A couple of columns ago, I made a mistake. It was hardly as big a deal as people want to make it, but it was a mistake. I wrote that homelessness in Boston had increased by 32% according to the latest city-administered census. I was off big time according to the numbers. It was actually…
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Change is Good
Every once in a while, things have got to change in order for things to get better. If you become stuck in the same old rut, things won’t get better. Trust me. That being said, next month SCN will be increasing its price to $2 for the public. Vendors will pay 50 cents, but will…
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A Way to Support Homeless Veterans
My name is Gerald Harrell. I’ve been a Spare Change News vendor since 1992 and want to support organizations that help homeless veterans. I know people say that Mayor Walsh has eliminated veteran homelessness, but there is much more to be done. Too many people who served our country are still on the streets. I…
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Moving Through Time
The world has changed so much since I was born. Sometimes it feels as if there’s an evil force moving against us to keep us from improving the world. We know better but we act as if we don’t. This is the hottest year on record so far since we’ve been keeping time. We used…
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My Spare Change Experience
My name is Pat Dixon, and I’ve been selling Spare Change News since 2001. I first became interested in SCN after I saw one of my neighbors selling the paper in Harvard Square. His name was Bill and he said I should sign up as well. He’s since passed away, and I now sell in…
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Suboxone: A Positive Alternative to Heroin Addiction
Addiction is a mental illness that has been misconstrued and stereotyped, especially since the early 1900s when it was criminalized. Addicts are often represented as bad people rather than sick people. In 1914, the Harrison Narcotics Act was passed into law, immediately criminalizing people suffering from substance use disorder. Ironically, the Bayer company, famous for…