Tag: Spare Change News
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LAST WORD: James Shearer
If it wasn’t for James Shearer and the independent news outlet he co-founded in 1992, homeless people on the streets of this city would be seen but not necessarily heard. While mainstream publications like the Boston Globe occasionally run stories on homelessness, their perspective is usually limited to a trip to a shelter and a…
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VOICES FROM THE STREET: Voices of the homeless
A few years ago, as I was about to become president of the board at the Homeless Empowerment Project, I found myself walking through Boston’s Back Bay to clear my head and think about the huge responsibility I was about to take on. I was making my way through the T station there when I…
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FORGOTTEN WOMEN? Southampton Street shelter will be a men's-only facility
The new shelter on Southampton Street in Boston’s South End, built over a two-and-a-half-week period, is located less than a five minute walk from the Woods-Mullen Shelter and the Barbara McInnis House. City leaders came together to prepare the transportation sign building located at 112 Southampton St. The new shelter will house 100 homeless men.…
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Ten Questions with Boston's New Mayor
BOSTON, Mass.—On January 6, Martin J. “Marty” Walsh was sworn in as the 54th mayor of Boston after serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2007. SPARE CHANGE NEWS was able to catch up with Walsh before his inauguration for a quick phone conversation about homelessness, housing and gun violence in the city. …
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Foreclosures, Economic Inequality Draw Diverse Group in Protests
Nakia Hill Spare Change News Economic inequalities, social injustices, foreclosures, and $5 debit card fees brought together a variety of people for Take Back Boston on Friday, September 30. White-collar workers, activists, immigrants, LGBT citizens, low-income citizens, youth, and the elderly all marched together from Boston Common to Bank of America’s Headquarters on Federal Street.…
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New housing policy won’t fit all sizes
Chalkey Horenstein Spare Change News The last few issues of Spare Change have familiarized the readers with a program called HomeBASE, which is intended for fighting homelessness. Much like the programs Flex Funds and Diversion that came before it, their “housing first” strategy pays a portion of the tenant’s rent for a certain period of…
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Top Lieutenant: Kevin Weeks writes about 25 years with Whitey Bulger
Adam Sennott Spare Change News For 25 years, he was James “Whitey” Bulger’s right-hand man and one of his closest friends. “[He] was a guy that taught me a lot, there was a friendship there. I really believed in him,” said Kevin Weeks, Bulger’s former top lieutenant . “And now I look here and I…