Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Moving Through Time
The world has changed so much since I was born. Sometimes it feels as if there’s an evil force moving against us to keep us from improving the world. We know better but we act as if we don’t. This is the hottest year on record so far since we’ve been keeping time. We used…
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Running Through a Journey of Hope
David Noriega was first arrested when he was 21, and had been in and out of jail for the following 13 years. He had been battling with alcohol and drug addiction since he was 13 years old. He had three heroin overdoses, three cocaine over doses, and he’s had seizures. Then he started running, at…
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Puuhonua O Waianae: Hawaii’s refuge for the homeless, by the homeless
When Twinkle Borge heard about the community meeting in 2010 to discuss what to do about the growing population at the homeless encampment near Waianae Boat Harbor on Oahu’s west coast, she figured the camp’s residents ought to have a voice. Borge had been living in the camp since 2006, a few years after she…
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Boston’s 311 line can now connect citizens with addiction recovery services
Tuesday afternoon, the city of Boston announced that people looking for addiction recovery services can now call 311 for help. Officials hope this new integration will make it easier for Bostonians to find a recovery program for themselves or their loved ones. “A lot of families… don’t know who they should call or when they…
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The Power of Partying, Brought To You by Andrew W.K.
For Andrew W.K., life is a party. Not in the sense of partying to ditch responsibility or wreck your parent’s living room. No—partying, for the Ann Arbor, Michigan, native, is a lifestyle. “It’s sort of a crucial understanding that our survival depends on an essential appreciation and gratitude toward existence,” said W.K. “It’s pretty hard…
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Baker-Polito Administration to Help With Funding to Affordable Housing Development
Gov. Charlie Baker announced a plan to create or preserve 1,420 rental units, including 1,334 affordable units, across 16 Massachusetts communities on August 15. The Department of Housing and Community Development awarded $31 million in state and federal low-income housing tax credits, which are expected to generate more than $218 million in equity, for the…
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Ground Zero, 15 Years later: A slideshow
Photographer Zengzheng Wang contributed these photos from the memorial at the base of the One World Trade Center in New York, fifteen years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Flowers, letters, and names adorn the memorial — a calm, solemn tribute to those we lost that day. All photos: Zengzheng Wang.
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Sept 1 Deadline For Motel Shelter Families Not a Hard Stop
The first day of school is a day of excitement and nerves for many children. Most children think about what they will wear, who they will walk to school with and which teachers they will have. The excitement of seeing their friends after the summer break combines with the nervousness of meeting new friends and catching up…
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More specific language could help social workers provide services to the homeless
Research conducted by Elizabeth Bowen hints that more specific naming conventions could help social workers and researchers alike provide aid to homeless individuals more accurately and efficiently. With a wide diversity of individuals living in Single Residency Occupancies (SROs) across the United States, service providers often have trouble offering proper aid. But by using more…
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Advocates rally to “take back Long Island” following news about b.good, tax money
The first big news item that inspired the rally was the revelation that fast food chain b.good will now manage a farm on the island that once benefited the homeless. The farm was originally part of the city-run Serving Ourselves job program for shelter and recovery clients. The farm also produced 50 percent of the…
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