Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Free From Heroin: A Daily Fight
I have been drug and alcohol free now for almost 15 years. Does the heroin still call to me? To be honest, at times it does. As a matter of fact, after almost four years clean, I relapsed and used heroin for another year and two months. An eternity in hell. How did that happen?…
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Housing is a Human Right: Homelessness in the Shadow of Wealth
Leilani Farha doesn’t want to live in a world where people have to negotiate to use the bathroom. She doesn’t want to live in a world where residents in the United States, the richest country on the planet, live in encampments infested with rats. Farha doesn’t want to live in a world where people are…
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Program That Brings Classical Music to Shelters Receives Grant
Photo: Julia McKenzie, Rebecca Strauss, and Rebecca Miller at Dimock women’s programs at Shelter Music Boston’s holiday concert in 2017. Courtesy. A private, boston-based charity is investing in music as a way to lift the spirits and lives of the city’s homeless. Shelter Music Boston (SMB), which employs professional musicians to perform classical concerts in…
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Finally, I Am Where I’m Meant to Be
Saundra came to Rosie’s Place about six years ago, at a low point in her life. Circumstances had led her to lose her housing, and she made the wrenching decision to separate from her teenage son while she became homeless and went through the process to find new housing for them both. She says that…
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United Nations report: U.S. has the wealth to end homelessness and chooses not to
In early December, United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston landed in Los Angeles, the first stop in his tour of extreme poverty in the United States. It was a Sunday, a day before he was scheduled to begin, but Alston said he had decided to get a head start on his mission. One of the…
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Program matching SNAP dollars at farmer’s markets out of money this spring
A program that rewards SNAP recipients for buying fresh produce will be out of funding for a few months this spring. The Department of Transitional Assistance says it can’t fund the Healthy Incentives Program, which provides dollar for dollar matches for SNAP money spent on fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, farm stands and mobile…
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Boston Teens Gather to Talk Arts, Activism, and Social Change
“‘Woke’ means to have a moral center. It’s the idea that you care about others. It’s to be selfless, and to think about people other than yourself,” said Alexis Maxwell, a junior at Boston Arts Academy, at a weekly Teen Council meeting hosted by the Boch Center. The Boch Center, a non-profit organization focused on…
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Allston Residents Apprehensive About Being Priced Out as Expensive Developments Rise
In the span of one year, businesses like like Kirin, Patron’s, Pikaichi, Soulfire, and Sunset Grill close, to name a few, leaving a void on the streets of Allston. At the same time, the skies above Allston-Brighton neighborhood are punctured by towering buildings and condos: the construction of the Boston Landing station and nearby apartments,…
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From the Violent Femmes to Tasmania: Ritchie and Famous
Brian Ritchie, bassist with the Violent Femmes, has enjoyed decades in the spotlight as a member of one of America’s finest folk punk bands. Here, he talks about his time in the Violent Femmes, fatherhood and finding paradise in Tasmania When I was 16 the one thing I had going on was music. I grew…
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Cycling for the Homeless
Photo: Courtesy Once a year in the financial district, and typically on a harsh, cold day, white-collar workers change from their office attire into their workout clothes and take a cycling class together outside. The event is called iCycle, and it’s organized by HomeStart, a nonprofit that has helped people find and maintain housing for…
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