Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Report reveals family homelessness on the rise In Massachusetts
According to the report, 60 percent of homeless people in the state are children; 7,800 of the 13,000 people currently on the streets in Massachusetts. Photo by pikespice – Wikipedia Commons Family homelessness has spiked in Massachusetts, according to a report released by The Boston Foundation on February 23. The report—which the foundation contributed data to…
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Schools Programs Keep Hunger and Homelessness From Derailing Local Students
Bunker Hill Community College student Michael Curran knows what it’s like to be homeless and struggling in school. Curran, 28, of Medford, is among the many students who rely on the college’s Single Stop program for food and other resources to get by in life and in school. When asked how often he comes to…
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OUT ON HER OWN: A Story of LGBTQ Youth Homelessness
Photo by Mike DeSocio. Author’s Note: The central character in this story, Liniște, asked that she be referred to by a pseudonym for safety reasons. I met Liniște in September and spent five months following her throughout various parts of her life, closely observing her experiences with homelessness and sexuality. This approach seemed most appropriate…
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Harvard Law Students partner with Spare Change News
Harvard Law students Antoine Southern and Anne Rosenblum will be guiding Spare Change News vendors through the legal questions that come with being a small business owner. Courtesy photo We are third-year Harvard Law School students from the Transactional Law Clinics’ Community Enterprise Project, and we are partnering with Spare Change News to address some…
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An Ohio volunteer’s perspective on Boston homelessness
Jimmy Longo and his fellow “Buck-I-Serve” volunteers. Photo courtesy of Jimmy Longo Growing up in Marion, Ohio—population 36,772—I never really saw homelessness in my 21 years of life. I never saw hordes of people without homes, without warm food or access to running water, without vital hygiene products— without hope. And then I visited Boston.…
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Waking Gods: A Book Review
Photo courtesy of the author Writing this book review of “Waking Gods,” book two of the trilogy “The Themis Files,” I found myself in a quandary. When I write a review of a wonderful book, I don’t like to insert spoilers. If you, dear reader, haven’t yet read the first book in the series, “Sleeping…
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‘I Am A Muslim Too’ NYC March
Photos by Katherine Bennett In preparation for the “I am a Muslim too” march to be held at noon, blocks of barricades and dozens of police officers secured the area in preparation for a peaceful march over the President’s Day weekend. Democratic Mayor Bill De Blasio spoke to over 1,000 participants at the rally, and…
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Con Brio brings its light to Boston
Con Brio is touring the country, and will be playing the House of Blues in Boston Thursday, March 9. Photo: Courtesy of Con Brio Con Brio, a California based funk-soul band, will be coming to the House of Blues in Boston on Thursday, March 9, with the New Orleans band Galactic. The band’s name…
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Jetpac: The New Face of Diversity and Inclusion
Although Jetpac is an acronym that stands for Justice, Education, Technology, Policy and Advocacy Center, it’s much more than that for Muslim Americans. Shaun Kennedy, Jetpac’s executive director, and Nadeem Mazen, its president, founded the nonprofit in December 2015 in order to increase civic engagement and community service in Muslim communities. Kennedy, who’s from Norfolk…
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Boston City Council Explores Mental Health Clinicians Accompanying Police Dispatches
On Tuesday, Feb. 14, the Boston City Council opened a hearing to discuss an increase in investments for mental health clinicians to work alongside the Boston Police Department. Led by Councillors Annissa Essaibi-George—who heads the Committee on Homelessness, Mental Health and Recovery—and Ayanna Pressley (who is part of the same committee), the issue was presented…
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