In this week’s episode, Executive Director Keith Howard sits down with us to respond to Johann Hari’s “The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think.” The article, which challenges popular belief about substance abuse, has spread like wildfire and become a catalyst for heated debate both on and offline. Keith’s firsthand experience with addiction (and redemption) brings a new perspective to this issue, offering insight alongside comic relief on a journey with addiction that shaped 35 years of his life.

First, because we believe that stories are the currency of human connection. The sharing of experiences can break down boundaries, forge new paths, and force us to see each other as individuals with complex and varied histories instead of “types†dictated by circumstance.

Second, because anyone who has heard the clink of quarters against pennies, be it in a plastic cup or the bottom of a purse, knows that one has to move beyond spare change to impact chronic homelessness.

Lastly, the show is called Beyond Spare Change out of respect for the work the men and women who have passed through Liberty House have done on themselves and their lives. It’s no mean feat to find work after unemployment and homelessness. It’s no mean feat to struggle with addiction and maintain one’s sobriety. Above all, Beyond Spare Change is dedicated to our hardworking residents.

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