The new trend across America is the production of newspapers being sold on the street,which are produced and sold by the homeless. Many cities are flourishing from this new trend. The street papers are nonprofit and survive on grants, donations and circulation revenue.
Editor, Joanne Zuhl, of Street Roots in Portland, Ore. says their paper has seen a sale increase of 16,000 from 11,000 in a few months, and the people selling the papers have jumped to almost 100 from 60. In February, 117 people attended the Denver Voice for sales training secessions.
These are people of all walks of life,that lost their jobs and homes. They sell the street paper to help make ends meet while they look for employment. This helps them to regain their confidence and to also rejoin the mainstream work force. Their success is up to one's own innovation and their gumption. For the most part it helps them to develop a community of customers and colleague's, which also gives them a marketable skill.
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ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastically written article! This is such an inspiration to all who have fallen victim to the hard times our economy has faced us with.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the paper employs people who are jobless and are non-profit seems like icing on the cake.
This paper is setting a great example for current and future print media. Not only on how to help one's striving business to prosper, but how to help everyone involved, including the economy.
Are you hearing this Murdoch? maybe you should step out of your office for a second and look at how the people you ignore on the street are taking the opportunity to make more of a profit than you are right now! Ha! great post.
This is great, to see a group of struggling individuals try harder to keep their life together. You see a lot the people who give up after their jobs are lost. I'm glad to see this type of news.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my brother recently sold newspaper subscriptions for a local paper (don't know if i should name them.)But they set his location on the West Side, around Lem Turner, and he was jumped. So i just hope that anyone doing this kind of work is careful out there, because you never know what kind of trouble there is out there on the streets.
I agree with you both on this. It is great that they are trying to make a living even though they are homeless. With the economy the way it is, something like this is happy news.
ReplyDeleteSome parts of the city are bad such as like Stephenie said the westside around Lem Turner. And Arlington out by the expressway. They need to be careful doing this because the last thing we need right now is the murder of a homeless person who actually turned out to be a good citizen.
I went to Kansas City for a journalism convention last fall for The Campus Voice, and one of my favorite speakers was Michael Koretzky. Koretzky is a crazy, tabloid kind of guy who loves controversy but is also a fantastic writer and editor. One of the jobs he has held has been the job of being the editor for the Homeless Voice, which offers the same services as Street Roots.
ReplyDeleteI think it is fantastic to see homeless papers. We have magazines that cater to specific people groups, and it makes sense for homeless people to look for a way to make money, keep up with the times, and inspire a sense of community. Kudos to all of those working with the homeless.