News

OPERATION OVERLORD

By: Nicky M Word on the Street Issue 45, July 2024 . . . Operation Overlord was the codename of the Battle of Normandy. The allied operation that launched the liberation of Western Europe from German occupation. June 6th 1944: The date of the Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune. An airborne assault of some 1200 […]

Service Animals Part 1

By: SherryJo Crandall Word on the Street Issue 45, July 2024 . . . This author has a clear and defined bone of contention with people who claim their dog is a service animal when it is clearly evident that their dog does not meet the criteria set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act, […]

A LIFE RESUMED

By: Gerri Graves Word on the Street Issue 45, July 2024 . . . Have you ever felt removed from a scene that you are witnessing?This whole month, I have been sorting through 40 years of accumulated stuff. Every tote opened was a memory I had lost over the years. Morgause’s clothing. Veronique’s costumes I […]

LET’S GET READY FOR THE HEAT

By: Christine Hahn, Abby Davids and Melissa Roop Word on the Street Issue 45, July 2024 . . . Editor’s Note: We are all three physicians who are working together on a project to reduce the impact of heat on the unhoused population Being outside can be difficult when it’s cold, but as the temperatures […]

Still Here

By: Julie Loomis Word on the Street Issue 45, July 2024 . . . So I am still homeless even though I have the income to pay rent. It is extremely frustrating that Boise is so expensive and I don’t have the rental history, bad credit and 2.5 x the rent.I have also been ill. […]

LITHA

By: Gerri Graves Word on the Street Issue 44, June 2024 . . . The longest day of the year. The height of nature’s fertility. The light’s full return. I finally reached the top of the housing list. Almost three years in, and it looks like I’ll be housed soon. Longest years of my life, […]

FREE TO BE ME

Word on the Street Issue 44, June 2024 . . . Junior Lee Growing up, I was always a tomboy–wearing skirts, playing with dolls or putting on makeup was not in my vocabulary. I was playing Call of Duty at 10 years old. Surrounded by other females at a mental health facility, I realized that […]

TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

By: Julie Loomis Word on the Street Issue 44, June 2024 . . . So I have been doing research on transgender and the Idaho laws that affect those in our community, including our homeless transgender population. For such a small population, our state is spending quite a lot of time and money to take […]

Empowered Cities, Scattered Lives:The Homeless Crisis

By: Whitney Bryen / InvestigateWest Word on the Street Issue 44, June 2024 . . . John Parke, known as “Cowboy,” is always ready to pack up and move. He stacks his black and blue tent, foam sleeping pad, and flannel-lined sleeping bag on top of a wagon that he hauls away every day at […]

A WORLD OF INTEGRITY & EMPATHY

By: Shyloh Word on the Street Issue 44, June 2024 . . . Imagine a world where we cared about the feelings of others. From the homeless mother and her three kids. To the daughter who day in and day out cares for her father who’s slowly dying of cancer. To the next-door neighbor who […]

MY STORY PART 2

By: SherryJo Crandall Word on the Street Issue 44, June 2024 . . . When I started going back to school in the summer of 2023, I did not have much going for me. I was in my second round of homelessness and could not see a future without being homeless. It took me […]

BRANDON

By: Julie Loomis Word on the Street Issue 44, June 2024 . . . My son is joy, bright bursting energy. He looks at me, this is the best day it can be. He smiles, ask for a hug, Mom, I love you, thanks for everything you do. My son is angry, he doesn’t understand why. […]

THE TOUGH DECISIONS OF A MOM

By: Viola Crowley Word on the Street Issue 44, June 2024 . . . So let me start with I’m not here to say that if you didn’t make the same decisions as me, that you’re wrong. I’m here to applaud all moms for the tough decisions you make on the regular. So it all […]

JUNETEENTH

By: Gerri Graves Word on the Street Issue 44, June 2024 . . . A small forward on these……I didn’t pick mainstream quotes, I picked quotes that meant something to me over the years. I also chose quotes from a large representation….meaning, not just civil rights leaders. I wanted to show what makes America…… America, […]

Scars and Shattered Hearts

By: Shyloh Word on the Street Issue 43, May 2024 . . . Substance abuse has been an issue for a millennium, but within the last few decades, the accessibility to drugs and alcohol substances have been widespread. Substance abuse causes mental, emotional, physical and sexual problems that have increased during the last few centuries. […]

My Story

By: SherryJo Crandall Word on the Street Issue 43, May 2024 . . . To tell my story is a review of a timeline filled with frustration and anger. It’s a journey to success but not without heartbreak. I watched people die around me because they couldn’t get help for their addictions or housing. This […]