Pamela Leavey

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Category: Social Issues

Ruminating on Coronavirus…

I’ve been ruminating on these thoughts for a while now… Here we all are in another day of limbo, waiting for the Coronavirus to move on past us, so that we can all resume our lives. We know now that life won’t be the same as it was before this started. We’re all tasked right now with figuring out what the new normal will be. I think we’re also tasked, those who are called, to ask what can I do differently in my life, because my life, all of our lives are now forever altered by this global collective trauma, Coronavirus.

It’s hard to look away from the numbers as the weeks go on. It’s hard to turn away from the raving lunatic at the podium. It’s hard to not feel so many collective emotions that are flowing together and passing through us all, whether consciously or subconsciously. For me personally, I feel as though I must bear witness to this life altering time. Most days I find myself sitting in the still in deep contemplation. Eventually as I work through the things in my head, the bearing witness, I find my mind is still and clear.

I haven’t been able to bring myself to the page since this started. I try and let what I write drop away, by deleting it. Something I am always loathe to do. There might be words of value somewhere on that page that I just dumped. So today, I’m not dumping this page. I’m just letting my thoughts flow and letting my readers know where my head is at in the midst of Coronavirus – Stay at Home life.

Thankfully in the midst of all of this, we see new beginnings are happening all around us. Whatever the new normal will be, let’s all make the most of it. Peace…

Baby Bunny in Salisbury, MA

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Opinion: Seniors and Housing Insecurity

I ran across a story on Facebook this afternoon that I find very troubling on a very personal level: Homelessness Among the Elderly Expected to Triple in 10 Years .

The number of elderly individuals experiencing homelessness is rising. In the Annual Homeless Assessment Report, released by HUD, the number of elderly individuals experiencing sheltered homelessness nearly doubled from 4.1 percent in 2007 to 8 percent in 2017. It’s not slowing down, either. This population is expected to triple over the next decade.

new study out of UCSF showed that almost half of all elderly homeless people became homeless after age 50. These statistics tells us that whatever the problem is, it’s related to age. The question we need to ask ourselves is, why are the elderly falling through the cracks?

(more…)

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Women’s March on Washington: Watch Us Stand Strong

I didn’t go to Washington, D.C. today to the Women’s March, but my heart has been there and everywhere around the globe, as women, men and children all gathered together to march against Trump.

The myriad of social issues that intersect with women’s issues effect us all. We have come too far to be knocked back down by Trump and his administration. It is time for us to stand strong and heal the world.  (more…)

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New Hampshire Mother Uses Art Therapy to Raise Heroin Addiction Awareness

13450033_10153852229215345_6907428901319467035_nAnne Marie Zanfagna’s gregarious nature is evident from the moment you start talking with her. One would be hard pressed to see the pain hidden behind her outgoing demeanor. Even as a life long friend, I do not always see the sadness Anne Marie carries with her.

When I sat down with her for an interview about her Angels of Addictions project, it quickly became evident that her sadness was what motivates her to paint the portraits of young heroin overdose victims. Anne Marie feels this work, painting portraits and talking about heroin addiction is now her life’s work, her mission.

Through her 501c3 non-profit organization, Angels Of Addictions, Anne Marie and her husband Jim work to raise awareness about heroin addiction, the stigma of heroin addiction and to help raise money for recovery services and a scholarship in their daughter Jackie’s name. Jackie died of a heroin overdose in October 2014.  (more…)

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Reflections: The Bailout Plan

A few weeks ago, I posted a short essay on My Grand Mid-life Crisis Adventure, which ultimately brought me and my daughter, home to live in Massachusetts, although the destination at the time, seven years ago, had been Eastport, Maine. It was the fall of 2008, the economy had tanked and I had been planning our move to Maine weeks before Wall Street had collapsed.

It felt as though there was no choice but to follow through with our move, as my personal economic situation had worsened as did the situation of so many other families living on the edge of poverty.  We took to the road with a sense of humor and deep-down inside a sense of great trepidation. This was our bailout plan, to embark on a cross-country journey and move, that would forever be affectionately known as My Grand Mid-life Crisis Adventure.

The story continues…

The Bailout Plan

There were stacks of packing boxes lined up in a 6’ x 12’ space marked off with red tape in the center of the living floor. I put another heavy 12” cubed box of books on one of the stacks and wondered if I should not try to get rid of more of my books. I swiftly tossed that thought out of the open window of my second floor apartment into the 90-degree heat and mused I would not miss that heat. It was the fall of 2008 and we were preparing for our move from Los Angeles to the Down east area of the northern coast of Maine.

The economy had been slowly sinking for the past few years, and as predicted by many who had seen the economic disaster coming, including myself, the bottom was now falling out. The timing was perfect to move from Los Angeles, where the cost of living was quite high, to coastal Maine where the cost of living was considerably lower. At least that was my frame of thought as I prepared for the 3500-mile trek across country with my 19-year-old daughter, Juliet. (more…)

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Sergei Polunin Dances to Hozier’s ‘Take Me To Church’

This last Sunday, Annie Lennox and Hozier wowed the Grammy audience performing Hozier‘s breakout hit ‘Take Me To Church’ coupled with Annie Lennox singing Screamin Jay Hawkins ‘I Put a Spell On You,’ which is on her latest CD, Nostalgia.

Hozier and Lennox teaming was all the rage on the internet, managing to go viral very quickly on social media websites, Twitter and Facebook. That was where I first saw it, as I don’t have cable. The short finale clip of Annie Lennox was what drew me to find a video of the full performance, and when I did, I discovered Hozier. I was quickly drawn into the lyrics and arrangement of ‘Take To Me To Church,’ and Hozier’s performance.

The latest mashup of Hozier’s brilliant song, ‘Take Me To Church’ is this incredible dance performance by Russian ballet dancer, Sergei Polunin.

Enjoy… (more…)

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