Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Having Cake and Eating It, Too
All photos by Alena Kuzub The presents start at the bottom of the stairs at Episcopal Trinity Church in Newton Centre. Stacks of gift bags, brightly wrapped packages, and cardboard boxes filled with toys wind their way up from the lobby to the second floor of the church, letting anyone who may have been confused…
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State Officials Take on Family Homelessness
With nearly 4,500 homeless families throughout the Commonwealth, officials are taking action to amend the system and help them find housing and shelter. At the moment, a bill is making its way through the State House that would ease access to emergency shelters and childcare vouchers. One of the biggest changes that the bill would…
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Seattle declares homelessness an emergency
Seattle became the latest city to declare homelessness an emergency this week. Mayor Ed Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine announced they were declaring the emergencies Tuesday, November 2, Murry’s office said in a press release. Seattle City Council members Mike O’Brien, Sally Bagshaw and John Okamoto also helped outline new investments aimed at…
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Elected Officials Declare Homelessness an Emergency
First it was Los Angeles, then it was Portland, and now it’s the state of Hawaii. All three places have declared a state of emergency to address homelessness. On September 22nd, the Los Angeles city council declared a state of emergency to address homelessness. The city council appropriated $100 million to fund initiatives such as…
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VOICES FROM THE STREETS: Opioids for pain: the best idea
It astounds me how much controversy exists about prescribing opiates for pain. The fact is that opium-based prescriptions are by far the best painkillers around. When pharmaceutical companies make opiates, they make regulated doses. There are no surprise overdoses, unless the patient takes more than is prescribed. Does this happen? Well, human nature being what…
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VOICES FROM THE STREETS: Run 'em outta town
From a distance, I’ve been watching the city of Cambridge dealing with the homeless community. It seems that the city council has been thinking of new ways to deal with an issue that has become a lot more difficult, especially with the opioid crisis, which has become more than just a minor annoyance. The area…
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One Year Later: Rally remember the Long Island bridge closure
One year after the Long Island bridge’s sudden closure on October 8th 2014, the homeless, the recovering and their advocates spent a morning rallying to raise awareness and demand mores services from the city and the state. Long Island was home to the city’s largest shelter, detox center and a number of addiction recovery services.…
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LAST WORD: Fred Boykin
For the first 30 years of his life, Fred Boykin lived securely in the same Dorchester house owned by his mother. His mother was the treasurer of Emmanuel Holy Christian Church in Roxbury and was a strict parent who always made sure Fred came home for dinner at the same time. He remembers her voice…
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DAN RATHER: On the decline of investigative journalism
After more than 60 years in journalism, former CBS News anchor Dan Rather still believes that a free and independent press is the “red beating heart of freedom and democracy.” But news organizations aren’t living up to that standard, he says. Nor are they working hard enough to “give voice to the voiceless.” Currently anchoring…
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VOICES FROM THE STREETS: Don't forget
It has been one year since the Long Island shelter debacle. For those of you who don’t remember, the shelter was hastily shut down after it was discovered that the bridge—which was used to carry the homeless to the island on buses—was deemed unsafe by the state and was condemned. So why am I calling…
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