Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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LAST WORD: Charles
Next time you’re downtown during the day, look out for Spare Change News vendor Charles. You’ll find him on Tremont Street between Downtown Crossing and Park Street T station. I met him on a fine fall day earlier this month and took him for a stroll through the Common to talk about his experience of…
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WILD THING: This Wild Life's Kevin Jordan on homelessness, police brutality
Kevin Jordan, frontman of the acoustic two-piece This Wild Life, took some time to discuss police brutality, the unfair treatment of the homeless and the Alternative Press tour, which begins its seven-week trek across North America at Boston’s House of Blues on October 14. The tour features This Wild Life, Real Friends, As It Is…
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LONG ISLAND: Closure and fallout timeline
Oct. 8: Long Island bridge closes after a private inspection. The city deems the bridge unsafe in the wake of new state requirements. Programs on the island—both health care workers and their clients—are given three hours notice. Buses on their way to the island’s shelter are turned around, bringing shelter guests to a new location.…
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ONE YEAR LATER: Boston Warm's successes, challenges, and future
Boston Warm was formed on November 20, 2014, a bit over a month after the Long Island bridge was closed. A group of interfaith leaders felt the city wasn’t handling the situation and decided to take action. Since then, the group has opened two warming centers, advocated for the reestablishment of treatment beds, produced a…
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RISING TIDE: The fight against the criminalization of homelessness
Last month, the Homeless Empowerment Project’s Vincent Flanagan, in his last action before leaving his post as executive director of Spare Change News, testified before the Massachusetts State House regarding a Homeless Bill of Rights. The law would make it illegal for an employer to discriminate based on whether an applicant has a permanent address…
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GIVING BACK: Activist Cleve Rae starts Homeless Inclusion Initiative
Cleve Rea, an activist for the homeless community, is starting a new program to pair homeless individuals and families with concerned citizen mentors, he announced on Spare Change News TV on August 31. The program, dubbed the Boston Homeless Inclusion Initiative, will provide a support system and community for homeless individuals and families. A major…
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MCGORRY ON MURDER: Actor Matt McGorry discusses feminism, Boston and performing
Matt McGorry, star of ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder and the Netflix original smash hit Orange Is The New Black, has made a splash in the celebrity advocacy scene over the last few months. The actor, an Emerson College graduate, continues to blaze the trail for many social justice causes. In fact, McGorry’s…
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VOICES FROM THE STREETS: Fear the Walking Dead
I’m a big fan of the show The Walking Dead on AMC. Of course, I’m not the only one; this show has more watchers than any other show in history. So it’s big news that a new spin-off story has started on AMC called Fear The Walking Dead. It’s the back-story for The Walking Dead.…
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VOICES FROM THE STREETS: It's about homelessness, stupid
A little over a couple of weeks ago, a homeless man who was sleeping in a subway station in South Boston was beaten and urinated on by two brothers who were drunk and returning from a Red Sox game. When they were caught by the police, one of the brothers made a remark that Donald…
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LAST WORD: Barbara “Susan” Holden
Living in Florida with her partner Walter, who’s also a vendor for Spare Change News, Barbara “Susan” Holden knew to avoid the cops on the last Friday of the month. “ID Friday” is what she’d call it, because that was the day the police would run their IDs, hoping they’d find a record so they…
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