Tag: Addiction
-
Voices from the Streets: A Hidden Violation (Conclusion)
Read part one here. (I had just gone into the courtroom, attempting to take care of a matter that was more serious than I had presumed: a felony possession of heroin with a suspended sentence.) I placed my hands on the rail so Judge Luby wouldn’t see them shaking. My public defender explained that I…
-
For Comedy King Sweeney, Poverty Is No Joke
Very rarely do you come across an entertainer who doesn’t want to talk about some current project, their career, what got them started in the industry or some other topic referring to their time in the spotlight. And with someone like Steve Sweeney, the crowned “King of Boston Comedy,” you know there’s a lot to…
-
Treatment on Demand
Photo: Zengzheng Wang More and more, we see the opiate epidemic dominating the conversation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. What was once thought to be only an inner-city issue is now affecting every social class in every corner of the state, in every community, whether rich or poor, high, middle or lower class. The need for treatment…
-
VOICES FROM THE STREETS: Don't forget
It has been one year since the Long Island shelter debacle. For those of you who don’t remember, the shelter was hastily shut down after it was discovered that the bridge—which was used to carry the homeless to the island on buses—was deemed unsafe by the state and was condemned. So why am I calling…
-
VOICES FROM THE STREETS: At the speed of life
I was late to graduation, just like I was late for everything. Flying down the right hand lane on South Livingston Avenue, doing close to 90 miles an hour with my 1958 Plymouth Belvedere convertible top down when I heard a police car hit the wailers and saw the lights in my rear view mirror.…
-
VOICES FROM THE STREETS: How not to go missing
I was reading an article in the Boston Globe about a homeless man that the police found. Well, actually, they found his legs first. They had been severed from his body and were lying by a Connecticut train station. From DNA testing they found out that the man’s name was Ray Roberson. They’ve found what…
-
LAST WORD: Jerry Harrell
Jerry Harrell is one of Spare Change News’ “old guard.” Alongside Algia Benjamin and James Shearer, he was among the original lineup of vendors who sold the first issue of the newspaper in May 1992. The cover of that issue—a photograph of a man selling catnip for $2 a bag—embodies what the newspaper is all about:…