Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Show of Homeless and Low-income Artists at Old South Church

    Local homeless and low-income artists served by area social service programs and centers will be exhibiting their artwork Saturday, April 14th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Old South Church, 645 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116. City Heart art show and sale highlights the works of artists from the Cambridge Women’s Center, Common Art,…

  • Legislative Action Day on Feb. 29

    Michael Ahern, Spare Change News BOSTON – On Wednesday, Feb. 29, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless will be holding a Legislative Action Day. For 28 years, the coalition has been a frontrunner in fighting and preventing homelessness. According to the website, the MCH believes that homelessness can be fixed with housing that is safe…

  • AFTER AUDIT, STATE PRESSED TO COVER HOMELESS STUDENT TRANSPORT COSTS

    Colleen Quinn State House News Service BOSTON — Armed with new state audit findings, several lawmakers are asking state budget writers to step in and help their communities cover the costs of busing homeless children to school – a figure that topped $11.3 million in fiscal year 2012. The group of legislators wrote a letter…

  • Evacuation of Elderly Chinese Immigrants from Condemned Chinatown Building Underscores City’s Lack of Elder Homeless Services

    Noelle Swan Spare Change News When the Boston Fire Department and Boston Inspectional Services condemned a building in Chinatown earlier this month, some 40 people were immediately displaced, sending the city officials scrambling to find emergency housing for the mostly elderly, non-English speaking residents. Some officials called Adrienne Beloin, Outreach Director at HEARTH—a nonprofit organization…

  • Editorial: More MBTA scenarios, please

    The MBTA has two scenarios to meet a $160 million budget shortfall. Both involve a combination of fare increases and service cuts. Neither is acceptable. State policy makers and MBTA officials need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a better plan. Both of the current T scenarios, one of which…

  • The Birth of Ar Lain Ta (Part One) The Birth of Ar Lain Ta (Part One)

    By Marc D. Goldfinger Everyone gets to pay the gatekeeper. In the end we pay with the only currency that we own. The gatekeeper’s desires are simple. All he wants is all we’ve got. They call me the Troll. I’m a gatekeeper of sorts and I have my own kingdom. Of course, I have to…

  • AFTER AUDIT, STATE PRESSED TO COVER HOMELESS STUDENT TRANSPORT COSTS

    By Colleen Quinn STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Armed with new state audit findings, several lawmakers are asking state budget writers to step in and help their communities cover the costs of busing homeless children to school – a figure that topped $11.3 million in fiscal year 2012. The group of legislators wrote a letter to…

  • Free Tax Preparation Services to Help Combat Poverty

    Nakia Hill Spare Change News Mitt Romney is not the only one filing his taxes this year. While the wealthy may be trying to dodge higher tax rates, low-income families are banking on collecting every penny borrowed from Uncle Sam last year. Boston and Cambridge are offering free services to the working class to assure…

  • New Initiative Targets Homelessness Among Veterans

    By Noelle Swan Spare Change News At 60 years old, Art Griffin is about to graduate from UMass Boston with a bachelor’s degree in social psychology. His eyes brighten when he talks about his post-graduation plans. “I want to work with veterans,” he says. The slight tremor in his hands briefly calms as he tilts…

  • When Bad Things Happen

    JAMES SHEARER Spare Change News A couple of weeks ago, the editor received a letter from a reader about a story one of our vendors had written about herself. The letter was critical of the decisions this vendor, who is homeless by the way, made. Not only was he critical of her, but of all…

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