Jchoice.Org

Street newspapers offer forums in which the voices of individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty may express themselves. Such expression produces multiple effects. Firstly, having voice enables individuals who may feel marginalized or isolated to feel that their points of view are valued, which is psychologically empowering. Secondly, the amplification of the voices of the economically disadvantaged contributes to the eradication of myths and stigma surrounding homelessness and poverty. Thirdly, the provision of an open forum in which voices can engage with one another fosters dialogue between individuals with diverse perspectives and representing multiple socioeconomic strata.

Spare Change News was one of the first street newspapers in the United States. Today, there are 31 similar publications in North America, and a total of 110 in 40 countries worldwide. Despite the concurrent decline of large-scale print media, street newspapers continue to proliferate, due to the simultaneous continued need for economic empowerment with many people experiencing homelessness and poverty, and the desire among consumers of media to stay connected to tangible, local sources of information.

Since 1992, HEP has provided hundreds of individuals with the opportunity to earn income as self-employed street newspaper vendors. Furthermore, Spare Change has reached tens of thousands of readers since its establishment, informing between 8000 and 10,000 people every two weeks about issues related to economic disparity and social justice. 

Street newspapers offer forums in which the voices of individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty may express themselves. Such expression produces multiple effects. Firstly, having voice enables individuals who may feel marginalized or isolated to feel that their points of view are valued, which is psychologically empowering. Secondly, the amplification of the voices of the economically disadvantaged contributes to the eradication of myths and stigma surrounding homelessness and poverty. Thirdly, the provision of an open forum in which voices can engage with one another fosters dialogue between individuals with diverse perspectives and representing multiple socioeconomic strata.

Spare Change News was one of the first street newspapers in the United States. Today, there are 31 similar publications in North America, and a total of 110 in 40 countries worldwide. Despite the concurrent decline of large-scale print media, street newspapers continue to proliferate, due to the simultaneous continued need for economic empowerment with many people experiencing homelessness and poverty, and the desire among consumers of media to stay connected to tangible, local sources of information.

Since 1992, HEP has provided hundreds of individuals with the opportunity to earn income as self-employed street newspaper vendors. Furthermore, Spare Change has reached tens of thousands of readers since its establishment, informing between 8000 and 10,000 people every two weeks about issues related to economic disparity and social justice. 

The mission of the Homeless Empowerment Project is as follows: “We empower the economically disadvantaged in Greater Boston through self-employment, skill development and self-expression. By creating forums, including independent media, we reshape public perception of poverty and homelessness.”

The goal of Spare Change News is “To present, by our own example, that homeless and economically disadvantaged people, with the proper resources, empowerment, opportunity, and encouragement are capable of creating change for ourselves in society.” Moreover, HEP and its street newspaper program seek to provide an open opportunity to individuals of all backgrounds for self-employment, so that they are able to stabilize and build or rebuild their lives on their own terms. Finally, it is the intent of HEP to facilitate the experience of having “done it ourselves” for all clients.

The Spare Change News program requires support because at its current circulation numbers, it prints newspapers at a loss. While other street newspaper organizations have increased the wholesale price per copy (i.e., the amount that vendors must pay to purchase each paper), Spare Change continues to offer the publication to its clients at a cost of $0.25 per issue, the same as in 1992, despite printing and shipping costs that have risen with inflation and fuel costs. At the current circulation of 8,000, HEP loses approximately $0.05 per copy, once organizational overhead costs are included. Therefore, HEP needs support to continue to print Spare Change, while also provide compensation for the editorial staff that makes the newspaper production possible.

Spare Change News is unlike any other empowerment or transitional employment program in the Greater Boston area. While other local organizations do host programs that serve as excellent vehicles to facilitate personal growth via skills training or education—and while other groups do offer mechanisms for peer support—none is as grassroots or client driven as Spare Change. The Homeless Empowerment Project, in essence, exists as a counterbalance to expert-driven service providers, which are often referred to as top-down institutions. In contrast, HEP is a bottom-up organization. It was founded by members of the homeless community and remains true to its roots—the President of the Board of Directors, as well as three other Board members are formerly homeless individuals.

Simultaneously, Spare Change is a unique publication in the Greater Boston area, as the only alternative newspaper whose content is focused on issues of activism and social justice. While other alt publications focus on the arts, mainstream news, and opinion pieces, Spare Change News operates as a paper “with a conscience”, reporting offering a perspective that places a different value on justice in journalism than many more well known newspapers. Finally, Spare Change is unique because its editorial content is produced nearly entirely by local authors, photographers, poets, cartoonists, and artists. While many mainstream newspapers rely on newswire content, Spare Change News culls its stories from local voices—even the crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles are created by a member of the local community. 

The following testimonials are sourced from profile pages that vendors can create on the Spare Change News website to network with their customers and the general public:

Norman

Norman helped get Spare Change News started in 1992, when it was a group of homeless people who wanted to do something more productive than panhandling for money. They put some news stories together, and Norman took them to Kinko's to be photocopied. Looking back, Norman credits Spare Change with getting him back on his feet.

He's been off the streets for 10 years, and able to help raise his two sons and a daughter.  Now, he's a vendor supervisor, focused on helping other vendors get the same opportunities that Spare Change News gave him.  He's also a regular contributor to the paper: you can read an article he wrote about a group of 

homeless people in Salem and about how Spare Change News vending is a legitimate job.

Edward

Edward Larsen has been selling Spare Change News for about the last 8 years. He is currently one of the top vendors, selling an average of 300 or so papers a week. Although Ed’s sales numbers remain high, he is quick to state that things have been better.

“When the economy was good, I was doing 800 every two weeks,” Ed reminds us. “Now I’m only doing 600.”

Unfortunately, Ed doesn’t see any signs that the economy is improving, based on his experience hitting the streets nearly every day. “I think it’s going to get worse and worse,” he laments.

Despite his worries about his financial situation and his health—Ed suffers from cancer and other medical conditions, such as Crohn’s Disease and colitis—he remains extremely personable. Ed is a role model of sorts among his fellow vendors, and he comments that the respect they feel for him is mutual: “I’ve gotten to meet and know some decent vendors,” Ed reflects.

Ed learned his trade as a newspaper vendor rapidly, evident as he describes how he got involved with Spare Change. “One day I came in and they gave me 10 free papers for signing up. I came back an hour later after selling them all and bought 25 more.”

Ed has sold Spare Change in a variety of locations around Boston, starting outside of Massachusetts General Hospital, then moving to North Station. He is currently deeply entrenched in his current spot at Longwood Medical Center, where he has been for several years. Ed has relationships with many of his customers, and they are extremely loyal to him. A natural salesman and self-described capitalist, Mr. Larsen has made newspaper vending a true entrepreneurial endeavor—he has even taken Spare Change on the road with success, selling the paper in New York City when visiting his brothers there.

This past month (in June 2010), a group of about 15 students participating in a program at Impact Boston volunteered with the Homeless Empowerment Project in a multi-day immersion experience. The type of work in which these high school students engaged could serve as a model for future opportunities.

Specifically, youth could:

·      Engage in fundraising for the Homeless Empowerment Project. Youths could do this over either short or long term periods, for example by selling copies of Spare Change News on the street for a few hours one day, or by helping to plan a larger fundraising event.

·      Utilize social media tools to raise awareness of Spare Change in the community. Youths could help on their own time by becoming friends with the newspaper’s group on Facebook, by regularly posting to its site, and by encouraging others to join the page.

·      Serve as interns for the Spare Change editorial staff. If local to the Boston area, youths could volunteer as journalists, photographers, or graphic designers, according to their interests.

       Assist in administrative tasks in the HEP offices, if local to the Boston area.