Category: Human Rights
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Long Island Bridge Debate Continues as Winter Sets In for Boston’s Homeless
By Aimee Ortiz BOSTON, Mass.—On Monday 15 December, Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced the location of a new homeless shelter for Boston – a building at 12 Southampton St. in the Newmarket area. The news came after the city had stopped plans for a shelter on Frontage Road in the South End and over two…
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Cranksgiving Bike Race Tackles Hunger in Boston
By Aimee Ortiz BOSTON, Mass.—On 22 November, Boston held its first annual Cranksgiving: a bicycle race that also combined a scavenger hunt and a food drive into one event. A hundred and sixty cyclists gathered at Copley Square for registration and the start of the race. Everyone was given a Cranksgiving manifest to follow. Pasta,…
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Demon
I watched along with the rest of the nation two weeks ago as the Ferguson, Missouri, District Attorney announced the decision of the grand jury regarding whether to charge the police officer who gunned down an unarmed black teenager in August. I can honestly say that it turned out the way I expected. Anyone who…
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Thanksgiving in a Boston Shelter
BOSTON, Mass.—This year for Thanksgiving, Valorie was homeless because she lost her live-in personal care attendant job. Valorie had been doing such work for thirty years and loves it. For the last two and a half years, she has not only been helping the individual that fired her, but was also a SPARE CHANGE NEWS vendor.…
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Spare Change News Files Brief in Supreme Court Case to Defend Worcester’s Homeless
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Homeless Empowerment Project/Spare Change News was contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to join in their admirable effort to have an ordinance passed by the city of Worcester declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. The Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to support the ACLU’s request. The…
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Long Island Not Forgotten During Thanksgiving Holiday
BOSTON, Mass.—Around and after Thanksgiving, Boston citizens and city officials struggle to agree on a solution in the aftermath of the October 8 closing of the Long Island bridge, which displaced over 700 people from homeless shelters and detox/recovery programs. On Tuesday, November 25, religious leaders from Boston held an interfaith service in the Boston…
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Black Lives Matter: Boston Turns Out for Michael Brown
By Aimee Ortiz It was around 9 p.m. in Boston on November 24 when the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney announced that a grand jury had not indicted Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown. Less than 24 hours later, protesters and Mike Brown supporters decided to, in their words, indict…
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Ban This, Ban That
As I write this column, it’s a very frigid, cold day and the night will be even colder. Naturally, I can’t help but think of those who have nowhere to go, and as I think of them I wonder why people are trying to run away or even hide the homeless. I say that because…
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Special Court Seeks to Meet Needs of Homeless Offenders
by Abigail Collins BOSTON, Mass.—Once a month, a small room with welcoming light blue walls at the Pine Street Inn in Boston’s South End serves as a courtroom. The court rises as First Justice Kathleen Coffey enters to begin hearing cases from defendants who have come to Homeless Court. “It’s a non-intimidating environment,” said Elizabeth…
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Showly Nicholson Looks to a New Platform for Helping the Homeless
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Harvard Square is, in many ways, an excellent snapshot of the unique qualities that define the greater Boston area: the same street corners and T stations that are frequented by Harvard University’s most promising students, and homeless individuals who don’t know when they will get their next meal. These streets are also the breeding…