About Street Papers

What is a Street Newspaper? A street newspaper is a newspaper that primarily addresses issues related to poverty and homelessness and is distributed by poor or homeless vendors. Vendors sell the newspaper for a set price, usually $1, and have to pay the organization a fraction of the price (20% to 40%) for each paper up front. The self-employed vendor sells the papers on the street and keeps the money he or she makes. For many people, this is the opportunity they need to get back on their feet and into permanent housing.

The benefits of street papers go far beyond economic opportunity. For the vendor, they offer a positive experience of self-help that breaks through the isolation that many homeless people experience. They offer the public a means to reach out with their dollar to help a homeless person directly and, over time, form a caring relationship.

Most street newspapers also provide homeless, socially excluded, and marginalized people with opportunities for expression by publishing their articles, letters and artwork. These publications build a bridge between the very poor and the wider public by helping people to understand the issues and the personal stories of those on the lowest rung of the economic ladder.

Street Paper History: The roots of street newspapers go back to the 19th century, when the Salvation Army created the War Cry, a weekly publication in Cleveland. From 1872 to the 1920s, the Christian-influenced paper was sold on street corners to help explain to the public how they could help the needy. Several other papers followed the War Cry, but most of them were published by religious organizations, and few used homeless vendors to sell the paper.

The first secular street newspapers did not appear until the 1970s. Portland, Ore., claims to have had the first modern street newspaper, the now defunct Homeless Times, which was founded in 1972. The oldest existing street paper today is Street Sheet in San Francisco, which came out with its first issue in December 1989.

The modern street newspaper movement really took off in the 1990s, as public policy towards the poor changed and as desktop publishing became readily available. In the mid 1990s, an average of five papers was started each year. While many of these papers never really took off, some of the largest street papers today started during the mid-1990s, including L’Itineraire in Montreal and Real Change in Seattle. New papers are still
continuing to develop and thrive. In 2007 alone, three new street papers started in Denver, Providence and Nashville.