Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Boston Teams up with HUD, DOJ on Juvenile Reentry Program
The City of Boston, HUD and the Department of Justice are teaming up to help formerly incarcerated juveniles re-acclimate to society, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office said. Mayor Walsh announced the $100,000 program, funded through the DOJ’s Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program, in a press release on April 28. Funding will help Boston Housing Authority (BHA)…
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How Boston is trying to combat the effects of hunger
Those in poverty face many challenges, but one of the most devastating challenges is hunger. Although Massachusetts does its part by enforcing a minimum wage that’s almost $3 higher than the federal minimum wage, the reality is that the benefit of those increased earnings are diminished rather quickly by the high rents in the Boston…
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Roger McGuinn’s Folk Den: Legendary folkster discusses 50 years of music
Photo: John Chiasson Roger McGuinn is still tending to the fire that has kept him on the road and in the studio for the last 50 years, and he doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. That’s why he is bringing a catalog of his most cherished songs to the Palace Theater in Manchester, New…
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“Rachel Rising”: A Book Review
“Rachel Rising” by Terry Moore. Published by Abstract Studio. Imagine, if you can, digging yourself out of a grave in the ground and not having any memory of how you wound up there or who you really are. “Rachel Rising” is an amazing tale, but I really did not realize it at first. Let me…
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Another Year
This month, Spare Change News turns 24 years old. It’s hard to believe. I’m not going to get into how we got started. That’s a story for another day. But I will say that I’m surprised we’re still here, and even more surprised at where I am now compared to where I was then. Before…
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HUD awards Local Homeless and Service Programs $7.8 Million
Dozens of local Homeless housing and service programs received a boost from the Department of Housing and Urban Development recently as the agency continues to work towards President Barack Obama’s goals to prevent and end homelessness. HUD announced in a press release that 39 homeless housing and service programs in Massachusetts received $7.8 million in…
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Stanley Forman: 40 Years After the Soiling of Old Glory
The photo was chilling. Before a crowd of onlookers, a white man appears to be attempting to stab a black man with the tip of a flagpole. “It really showed racism,” said photographer Stanley Forman 40 years after he took the Pulitzer Prize-winning snapshot of an anti-busing protest that had turned violent. “It was whites…
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Thank you for partnering with us
In May of 1992, a group of homeless men and women decided to work together to better themselves. With a stated goal of “showing that being homeless didn’t mean that you were worthless,” this circle of friends willed Spare Change News into existence with the help of a man named Tim Harris who now runs…
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LAST WORD: Christina Sukghian Houle
About a month ago, an artist called Christina Sukhgian Houle dropped into the Spare Change News’ headquarters to meet with some of the vendors. Christina has joined forces with the newspaper’s co-founder, James Shearer, with the goal of making a documentary on homelessness in the Boston area. Christina is a relatively recent transplant to Greater…
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Food For Free redistributes Harvard’s extra meals
Undergraduate students at Harvard University get to choose from a wide array of sushi, sandwiches, pizza, and more from fourteen different dining halls. With over 6,500 undergraduates eating three meals a day, Harvard goes through a lot of food, some of which inevitably isn’t eaten. “Our goal is to have the same choices at the…
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