Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Robbing Peter and the Silent Majority
In the last edition of SCN there was a story regarding the Governor’s new budget. One of the new proposals for this 2012 budget is “to reduce the state’s reliance on shelter and move towards a system with a housing first approach that will provide greater self-sufficiency while using resources more efficiently.” While this all…
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Sober For Myself and No One Else
It’s been awhile since I have continued with my adventure in post detox Danvers. I left off after my first conversation with Lindsay, my case worker. To sum up briefly, she told me AA was not necessarily right for everyone and maybe I did not need AA to stay sober. She explained that I had…
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The Myth Exposed Part 2
Boston likes to think of itself as a liberal city. As a matter of fact, Massachusetts as a whole loves to think of itself as a liberal state. We take great pride in it. We beat our chests about it, and always vote democrat. We make up our own rules and generally thumb our noses…
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Crittenton Women’s Union: A Path to Economic Self-sufficiency
They help 1,300 people a year and run one of the largest emergency and transitional housing programs in the state, serving 350 families a year. The Crittenton Women’s Union is a Boston-based non-profit organization that combines a mission of direct service programs, independent research and public advocacy to help low-income women attain economic independence. CWU…
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Patrick’s Budget Proposal Outlines New Approach to Ending Homelessness
With his new budget proposal, Deval Patrick has decided to take a new approach to ending homelessness. The new proposal was filed on January 26th and will reform the emergency shelter system and work to transition to a housing first approach. The proposal aims to cut the state’s budget by 570 million, approximately 1.8 %,…
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Beyond the Class System in America
My name is Jacques, a.k.a. “The Haitian Firefly” in artistic circles. I am a poet, author, columnist, novelist and essayist. I came up with the nickname “The Haitian Firefly” to reflect my bold individuality and life credo that we are all essentially fireflies, we glow but only for a short amount of time, so we…
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Speaking Her Mind: Actress Sophia Bush Talks to SCN about Women’s Rights, the Environment, and Urban Outfitters.
When you hear Sophia Bush you may think of the actress from long running television show One Tree Hill, where she has portrayed character Brooke Davis for the past eight years. Yet Bush has done much more than act; along with being an icon for women’s rights and fighting for healthy body images in young…
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A Saving Grace in Salem, MA: Part I
When my husband and I would feel our stomachs stir with hunger we would walk down to the LifeBridge Shelter in Salem, MA to eat both our lunch as well as our supper. Many times, no matter what time of the day it was, the lines were long — over 300 meals were served daily.…
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Life and death in the streets
There is a couple that I met, while working in the needle exchange, that I can’t get out of my mind. You might say that I am haunted by ghosts of the past. They were in their early sixties, homeless, and they had come up during the warmer weather. They liked Massachusetts best but they…
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Thoughts On Spring
Spreading Fear First I need to say that my heart goes out to the people of Japan. Let’s all pray that their recovery is swift. It’s hard to look at the pictures from there and not be horrified by the devastation that the earthquake and the tsunami that followed it brought upon them. The crisis…
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