Tag: Film Reviews
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Outrage and a Little Headscratching
On the morning of May 12th I was quietly reading the Boston Globe as I do every morning before descending into this hellish madness of everyday life, when I happened upon a headline that I thought was a belated April Fool’s joke. “Nine accused of mob attack on disabled teen.” As I read on I […]
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'War' Has All the Money Gone?
Marc D. Goldfinger I was watching the news last night and this morning and was amazed by all the teacher cuts all over the country. The talking heads were telling us that this is a new era and we’ll have to get used to doing with less. Also, just recently some Tea Party member was […]
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18 Years of Empowerment
As the ink birthing these serifed letters dries, Spare Change News celebrates eighteen years of continuous publication in Greater Boston. Amid myriad tumultuous moments—which have included many sterling success stories as well as some disappointing setbacks—the newspaper has unfailingly rolled off of the presses. Although many have passed through the […]
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The Clubhouse
In some towns people who are experiencing homelessness have to wander around during the day until they are allowed back into a homeless shelter to get their bed to sleep for the night. In other places, so-called day centers for homeless exist to provide services and to be simply a place to go during what […]
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Illegal: Immigration Reform
James Shearer I, along with the rest of the country, have been following the goings on in Arizona. For those of you living under a rock, Arizona has passed a new immigration law that will take effect in August. The law states that anyone who is suspected of being in the country illegally can be […]
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Stemming the "Rising Tide" of Elder Homelessness
David J. Jefferson Picture your grandmother. Gnarled, spotted hands creak, pull an ancient scarf down over wisps of white hair. Cataract eyes peer through cloudy glass, gaze into yours through imagined years intermediary. Call it age or gender bias, but she is a woman envisioned in comfortable surroundings, all overstuffed armchairs and well-provisioned kitchens. Yet […]
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What the Homeless Need is to Get a Job
Norman Watne As a vendor for Spare Change News, I have heard so many comments from people passing by regarding their views of homeless people in need of help. Lately, it seems that the comment, “What the homeless need is to get a job” has been stated more and more. What I’m about to […]
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Requiem for a Homeless Cause
Robert L. Karash In the various media, be it print, broadcast, or internet, we sometimes see news stories and reportage on topics related to homelessness and the poor. Sometimes an incident reported in the media nearly obliterates any empathy or compassion we may have felt for the homeless. Unfair generalizations about homeless people become pervasive […]
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Comfortably Numb
James Shearer The title of today’s column should ring a bell for anyone who is over the age of 30 or has ever listened to Pink Floyd. But this is not a story about heroin addiction. The other night I attended a type of event called a board connection. It’s where non-profits like ours go […]
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Thinking Inside of the Box
David J. Jefferson In my last column, (from the 4/8/10 issue) I discussed a recent interfaith meeting of local religious and community leaders who convened to dialogue about homelessness as a solvable problem. The idea of Housing First featured prominently in the forum, which is an initiative that has been outlined previously in this publication […]