Homelessness is not a crime

I wrote this for the New England News Collaborative, with funding from the Melville Charitable Trust. It may read a little wonky (I have that habit) but honestly, read the story at the beginning and the end. It’s good for what ails ye.

What if you’re a hungry teen in the U.S.?

Urban Institute and Feeding America recently released reports here and here  about hunger among teenagers in the U.S.A. Teens who suffer from food insecurity (they’re hungry, in other words) must resort to drastic measures — sex, drugs, crime — in order to get through the day. Here are some takeaways: Teen food insecurity is widespread. Even in …

Should colleges reveal when there’s a gun crime on campus?

Rep.  Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) will introduce a bill today that will require colleges to reveal when crimes with guns have been committed with a gun. Honestly, why isn’t this the case already?

Homelessness is not a crime

Read this wonderful essay from Vijay Das, which includes: Over the last few years, there has been a 60% increase in laws criminalizing public sleeping and a 119% increase in laws prohibiting living in one’s vehicle nationwide. More than one-third of cities prohibit loitering. California cities are particularly harsh. Since 2010, California cities enacted 55 …

Rape victim fights back, faced jail time, but no more.

Savannah Dietrich, a 17-year old Kentuckian, got drunk at a party last August, fell asleep, was raped by two teen boys she knew, who took pictures of their crime and shared those photos. Her attackers accepted a plea deal Dietrich thought was too lenient, so she named them on Twitter, and for a while there, …