Street Sense (newspaper)

Street Sense is a Washington, D.C.-based 20-page bi-weekly street newspaper that was founded in 2003. Its mission is to raise public awareness on the issues of homelessness and poverty in the city and to create economic opportunities for people experiencing homelessness. The newspaper features writing and articles about homelessness and poverty, written by homeless or formerly homeless people and other volunteers.

History

Street Sense began in August 2003 after two volunteers, Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson, appraoched the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions about starting a street newspaper in Washington, D.C.

A street newspaper is defined as a newspaper about poverty, homelessness and other social issues that provides an income to homeless individuals who sell it. About 28 street papers operate in the U.S. and Canada in cities like Seattle, Chicago, Boston and Montreal, and dozens more exist throughout the world.

After bringing together a core of dedicated volunteers and vendors, Street Sense came out with its first issue in November 2003 with a print run of 5,000 copies. For the next three years, the paper published consistently on a monthly basis and greatly expanded its circulation and vendor network.

For the first year, Street Sense operated as a project of the National Coalition for the Homeless, but in October 2004, the organization incorporated and moved into its own office space.

In March 2005, Street Sense received 501(c)(3) status, becoming an independent nonprofit organization.

In October 2005, Street Sense formed a full board of directors, and in November that year, the organization hired its first employee, co-founder Laura Thompson Osuri, as a full-time executive director.

A year later in November 2006, the organization hired its first vendor coordinator, Jesse Smith. In February 2007, the paper started publishing twice a month as the network of vendors expanded to more than 50 homeless men and women. To support the increased production, Street Sense brought on Charles Jackson as its first full-time editor in chief in April. Jackson left two months later, and Street Sense hired Kaukab Jhumra Smith as its new editor in June 2007.

Vendors

With a monthly circulation of 11,000 issues, Street Sense is always sold by individual vendors who are homeless. Each vendor pays USD $0.25 for a paper to cover publishing costs, and in turn, sells each paper for a $1 "suggested donation". Customers often choose to pay more than $1 for a paper as a charitable donation.

Funds

Street Sense is funded through vendor sales, advertising, grants, and donations.

External links

• Street Sense official website