Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Boston Housing Authority Administrator Signs Off, Reflects on 40-Year Career with the Agency
William McGonagle may remember growing up in a very different Boston at a time where he was surrounded by a more homogenous group of people in a public housing development over in South Boston. McGonagle, an Irish-American man, was raised with other Irish Catholics in the Mary Ellen McCormack – a development that he would…
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Bill Would Expand Those Eligible for SNAP
A bill filed mid July would make more college students eligible for food assistance on campuses across the country. The College Student Hunger Act of 2019, filed by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Representative Al Lawson of Florida, would make all Pell Grant eligible students also eligible for SNAP benefits. The purpose of the…
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Begging ‘professionally’ doesn’t make their poverty and vulnerability any less legitimate
This month, Victoria Police arrested seven people who were alleged members of a professional begging “syndicate”. They were flown in from China on tourist visas. In reporting this story, Australian media generated a considerable amount of public outrage. The idea that people who beg are somehow “faking” homelessness or poverty is one often used in tabloid media. Add…
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Centuries of questions about homelessness
Let’s talk about a 12th century rabbi. I write about homelessness. So I often get asked questions like, “Yesterday I saw a homeless person. What should I have done? Would a dollar have solved the problem? What would the dollar have been spent on? Where do homeless people come from? Why don’t they go live with…
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Surviving through trauma: Sara Kruzan on trafficking, her incarceration, freedom and activism
In 1995, 17-year-old Sara Kruzan was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the murder of George Howard, a man, the jury were told by prosecutors, with a family, a business, and a reputable stake in civil society. The accused – a child – was vilified as a murderer, a threat to that same society.…
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OPINION: Finanical Literacy’s Role in Financial Stability
Spare Change News does not endorse any City Council candidates, and the content of this opinion column does not represent the views of Spare Change News, its staff, or its board. This opinion piece is by Hélène Vincent, a candidate for Boston City Council in District 8, which includes Mission Hill, Fenway/Kenmore, Back Bay, Beacon…
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Residential Reentry Program for Women Reopens in the South End
A residential reentry program exclusively serving women in the South End has reopened its doors after losing funding more than a year ago. The McGrath House, located on Massachusetts Avenue, was awarded money from the probation department to reopen after the state legislature approved $5 million for reentry services within the FY2019 budget. John Larivee,…
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Addiction: The Illness That Talks
After more than three decades of heroin addiction, I was on my way to detox again. I had been to at least 40 detoxes, some of which I completed and some of which I bolted out the door before they wanted me to, or as they call it “A.M.A.” (Against Medical Advice). Addiction is like…
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Reflections on the Poor People’s Congress
In June I attended the Poor People’s Moral Action Congress in Washington DC where 1,000 poor people gathered from 40 states. The Congress is part of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, and it was emotional for me for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, the original Poor People’s Campaign…
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Former Fair Housing and Equity Staffer Hopes to Replace Three-Term Councilor in District 5 Race
Housing affordability has been an issue that Boston city council candidate Alkia Powell has dealt with throughout her life. Powell, vying to replace District 5 Councilor Tim McCarthy, who is not running for reelection, has left her post with the city’s economic development office to be a voice for Roslindale, Mattapan and Hyde Park –…
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