Spare Change News

Category: Social Justice

  • Homeless for the Holidays

    Homeless for the Holidays

    Outside London’s Piccadilly theatre where tickets cost up to 110 pounds and a banner advertising the musical “Annie” reads “It’s a hard knock life”, Bryan and Kevin sleep in small tents on the street. They are among almost 1,000 people who sleep rough in the British capital, according to official figures, while more than 4,000…

  • Know Hard Times or Homelessness? We’d Love You to Work For Us!

    What does the Trump Era mean for Spare Change News? In the simplest terms, it means that we as an organization feel called to think bigger. The original vision of the Spare Change founders to “build a bridge between the haves and the have nots” takes on a new urgency today as current events suggest…

  • Cambridge Might Increase Housing Stock to 20 Percent Affordable

    Cambridge has created 100 units of affordable housing over the past year, a trend it’s looking to build on in 2017. The Cambridge City Council hopes to increase the percentage of affordable housing to 20 percent of the city’s total residential housing units by June of this year. Cambridge implemented inclusionary zoning, a tool utilized…

  • Critics Call HHS Proposal “License to Discriminate”

    LGBT Americans face a patchwork of civil rights protections from state-to-state, and their advocates say a potential new government office could increase discrimination. On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services released details of a proposed rule for a new division in its Office of Civil Rights for the purpose of protecting religious freedom,…

  • Inclusivity and Immediacy: The 2018 Cambridge-Boston Women’s March

    Inclusivity and Immediacy: The 2018 Cambridge-Boston Women’s March

      Lorraine Doyle has protested for women’s rights in Cambridge for 56 years. “For me, protesting is a lifelong event,” Doyle said. “It is every chance to go further with my cause. Women first, men second. They don’t like it, they can step aside. It’s time. That’s really how I feel. I am an arch-feminist…

  • Cold Weather, Colder Reality

    Cold Weather, Colder Reality

    Quincy COPE has been serving food and love at South Station for years with little or no complaints, that is until now. Apparently one of the Station’s security guards probably with nothing better to do approached Suzanne Featherstone (who is seen by many as the leader of the Quincy contingent) and the other volunteers and…

  • Activists Protest Police Brutality On MLK Day

    Activists Protest Police Brutality On MLK Day

    It was clear who the veterans of the March for Justice were. They wore ski pants. On this freezing January 15th, a group of near-60 people marched from Grove Hall to Dudley Cafe. They chanted against police brutality. The third annual Martin Luther King March on Justice illustrated participants’ commitment to progress.   The volunteer…

  • Reductions in Prison Population Lag for Women

    Prison populations are dropping in most states, but a new study finds that the number of incarcerated women is not falling as fast as it is for men. Nationally, the total prison population peaked around 2009. The study, compiled by the Prison Policy Initiative, shows that most states have made progress in reducing their overall…

  • Sen. Warren Visits Roxbury Health Center, Vows to Fight for Health Insurance for Low-Income People and Kids

    Sen. Warren Visits Roxbury Health Center, Vows to Fight for Health Insurance for Low-Income People and Kids

    File photo Board members, health providers and staff members at The Dimock Center in Roxbury shared their concerns with Senator Elizabeth Warren during a roundtable discussion centered on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Community Health Center Fund in early January. Warren, nationally known for her progressive views, was greeted by a round…

  • Minimum Wage Increase Would Be Boon For Families that Depend on Teens’ Paychecks

    A new study from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says raising the minimum wage has little impact on teen unemployment, but can have a big impact on teens and their families. On Monday, 18 states saw their minimum wages increase, but Massachusetts wasn’t among them. A bill in the state legislature would raise the…