Spare Change News

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • A Controlled Dangerous Substance Act (Part One)

    Marc D. Goldfinger Spare Change News There was Dean Levy and he was counting the Quaaludes and he kept losing the count at around fifty or sixty. It was beginning to make him mad and his wife Brenda came over to help and dropped the coffee on his lap and he jumped up. “Come on.…

  • The Rise of Women’s Boxing: From Local Gym to Olympic Arena

    Noelle Swan Spare Change News No sooner had the bell rung than Jamie Jacobsen’s fist connected with my nose. Instantly, my eyes welled up with water and a cold chill set in all over my body. By the second round, my nose had swelled up beyond utility, leaving me struggling to learn how to breathe…

  • Book Club for the Homeless: 'Things Worth Discussing'

    Caroline McHeffey Spare Change News Since last September, I’ve been in touch with the Oasis Coalition, an organization that helps to empower and give a voice to the homeless and poor of Boston. My volunteer work there started through my school, Suffolk University, and I was quickly serving at their Monday night dinners on a…

  • State Puts New Limits on Homeless Shelter Access

    Sarah Ferris Spare Change News The Massachusetts Legislature set aside more than $80 million for permanent housing assistance in next year’s budget — while slashing budgets for emergency assistance — as the state rolls forward with an overhaul of its costliest housing programs. The state Legislature approved the massive expansion of Governor Deval Patrick’s flagship…

  • It's Hotter for the Homeless

    Laura Kiesel Spare Change News As the thermostat in Boston has been hovering close to or above 90 degrees most days lately, it is important to keep in mind the dangers of overexposure to heat. The impact is often underreported, but heat waves generally kill more than 400 annually in the United States, according to…

  • Women On The Rise: Cambridge Organization Forges Personal Relationships within the Growing Female Homeless Community

    Zachary Goldhammer Spare Change News On The Rise, the name of the Cambridge women’s day shelter located at 341 Broadway in Cambridge, has recently taken on a new meaning. The phrase not only represents the ideological aims of the program—to rehabilitate women who have been left on the streets—but also an unfortunate reality: the number…

  • After Aurora, Questions That Need to be Answered

    James Shearer Spare Change News Late last week, an unassuming gentleman walked calmly into a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. With the exception of his outlandish clothing, nothing seemed out of place. It seemed to the folks who were there that he was just part of the show, which happened to be a special midnight…

  • Letter: The Vision for a Homeless Bill of Rights

    To the Editor: This is to make a correction on Adam Sennott’s article entitled “Rhode Island Homeless Bill of Rights: Is Massachusetts Next?” that was published on June 29, 2012. The article states, “Along with Senator Tassoni, the bill was put together by John Joyce and Megan Smith, Co-Directors of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy…

  • Letter: It's Time To Strengthen Gun Laws

    To the Editor: The time is long overdue for gun control, as is practiced in England and other progressive peace loving countries. To quote Cheryl Wheeler in her song responding to the Jonesboro Schoolyard Shooting incident: …”but I know one thing. If it were up to me, I’d take away the guns.” In 1920, Britain…

  • Editorial: A work in progress

    No one can argue with the good intentions behind HomeBASE, the centerpiece of the Patrick administration’s “housing first” approach to homelessness. The idea is to move the homeless out of emergency shelters — and costly state-subsidized hotel and motel rooms, which are used in the frequent event that shelters are full — and into permanent…

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