{"id":757,"date":"2022-10-12T11:59:39","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T15:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/english-iui\/?p=757"},"modified":"2022-10-14T18:39:03","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T22:39:03","slug":"how-do-street-papers-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/english-iui\/2022\/10\/12\/how-do-street-papers-help\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW DO STREET PAPERS HELP: AN INVESTIGATION OF STREET PAPERS ACROSS THE GLOBE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
What is a street paper? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A street paper is any kind of newspaper or magazine sold primarily by local homeless or impoverished people. These papers have often been created to help support these communities and give vendors a viable alternative to begging. These papers often include stories written by and for homeless and impoverished individuals and can be a valuable source of information and self-expression for local communities. Street papers have gained popularity across the world as a means of supporting the less fortunate and are widely recognized as an effective method of providing both support and stability to those in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Street papers can provide communities with many different sources of aid ranging from financial advice columns to poetry slams. Street papers are often a source of both indirect support through their content like legal advice columns as well as direct support by providing the vendors with a reliable source of income through paper sales. Across the globe, different street papers put varying amounts of emphasis on direct and indirect support and offer vastly different forms of the latter to their vendors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To explore these differences three street papers from different countries have been selected and are detailed below.\u00a0Each street paper is introduced with an image of a vendor and a short list of statistics about the street paper. These statistics include the location of the paper, percentage of profits kept by vendors, total profits made, and the average cost of a loaf of white bread in the region to put the earning of the vendors into perspective. This introduction is followed by a detailed discussion about the varying forms and methods of support each paper provides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Street Papers <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Street Sheet – San Francisco, USA <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Location:<\/strong> San Francisco, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monthly Readers:<\/strong> 16,000 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Active Vendors:<\/strong> 230 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Profits Kept by Vendor:<\/strong> 100% <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amount Made by Vendor:<\/strong> 2 USD<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cost of Bread in Region: <\/strong>4.16 USD<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nA vendor holds a copy of the Street Sheet. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
San Francisco is globally well known as the tech industry capital of the United States, with a ranking as one of the top cities in the US in terms of economic vitality, but it is just as well known for its housing crisis. Ranked eighth in homelessness rates per 100,000 residents, San Francisco has become famous for its inability to combat the growing homelessness crisis and its consistent inability to provide shelter for its unhoused resistance, with more than 50% of homeless residents living completely unsheltered. Between its bustling streets and the exuberant mansions of tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, it is not uncommon to see someone sleeping on the cold concrete steps in front of an apartment building occasionally covered with a thin film of morning dew or frost depending on the time of year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Street Sheet<\/em> paper became a beacon of hope against the worsening housing crisis in San Francisco, providing its vendors with a source of income as well as a place for self-expression. Street Sheet<\/em> puts an extreme amount of emphasis on the direct form of aid by allowing vendors to keep 100% of their profits. Twice a month 100 papers are given to registered vendors at no charge. These are sold at 2 dollars a copy resulting in a maximum profit of 400 dollars per month for the vendors. This reliable source of income can help ease the uncertainty relating to food, medicine, and shelter that many vendors face and provide a sense of stability.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Street Sheet<\/em> is one of the few street papers that allows vendors to keep all of their profits thus providing the maximum amount of direct support, it does not lack in more indirect forms of support. Street Sheet<\/em> has numerous community-oriented publications written with the intention of protecting homeless communities while also providing them with a sense of normalcy as they navigate homelessness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nThe cover of a recent issue of Street Sheet with the hopefully message “We Can End Homelessness” written on a colorful background. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Articles detailing upticks in police brutality towards homeless people and making sure the homeless victims of these crimes aren’t forgotten are frequently featured in Street Sheet <\/em>issues. Notably, one article writes, \u201cthe community has not absolved the San Francisco Police Department of committing violent acts without first using proper de-escalation tactics against some of those marginalized folks they are supposed to \u2018protect and serve.\u2019\u201d This article is directly calling for action against police officers who shot and killed two homeless men in the San Fransisco area without using the mandated de-escalation tactics prior to shooting. Article’s like this one prevent vulnerable community members from being forgotten and hold those who mistreat them accountable. Articles are also published with the intent of bringing perpetrators to justice and enacting policy changes. Among the numerous community-centered headlines, titles like “Don\u2019t Evict the Flower Lady” and “To Protect and Serve Whom? Violence by Police Continues” stand out as they call for justice and action against police officers and politicians who have failed to protect community members from harm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nA marriage announcement featured in a recent Street Sheet issues. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Not all of the articles are centered around directly protecting the community. In fact, articles detailing the upcoming milestones in the lives of homeless people are frequently featured allowing vendors and community members to publicly celebrate their big life events and regain some sense of normalcy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to advocacy and the sense of community Street Sheet <\/em>provides, it also fosters a creative space for vendors and other marginalized groups to express themselves. Although a street paper, Street Sheet<\/em> also has a podcast where vendors and community members can submit their work to poetry slams or share their work through other creative mediums. Street Sheet <\/em>also features stories written by vendors detailing their own lives and\/or offering advice to other community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Street Sheet<\/em> is an incredibly well-rounded paper. It provides its readers with a reliable source of income as well as numerous indirect resources like creative outlets, eviction advice, and advocating for justice within the community. It puts the interests of the community above its own profits and is clearly invested in the well being of its local community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Big Issue – UK<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Location:<\/strong> United Kingdom<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monthly Readers:<\/strong> Not Reported<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Active Vendors:<\/strong> ~ 300<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Profits Kept by Vendor: <\/strong>50% <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amount Made by Vendor<\/strong> 1.50 GBP<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cost of Bread in Region: <\/strong>0.91 GBP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nA vendor holds a copy of The Big Issue while wearing a bright orange vest. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Walking down the streets of central London, it is not uncommon to run into someone in a bright orange vest selling newspapers. Although one of the wealthiest cities in the world, London has seen a spike in homelessness in recent years making street papers like The Big Issue<\/em> vital when it comes to supporting these communities. The Big Issue<\/em> is an international organization with the aim of both combating the institutional causes of homelessness as well as helping current homeless communities gain some stability. Big Issue street papers are not specific to the UK there are many Big Issue-affiliated street papers across the globe all with the same mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Big Issue<\/em> takes a slightly different approach when it comes to supporting local communities than Street Sheet<\/em> in San Francisco. Vendors must buy the issues before selling them (currently the cost is 50% of the selling price so 0.75 GBP). The Big Issue<\/em> makes certain to still provide the vendors with direct support in the form of a reliable source of income, albeit less than Street Sheet<\/em>. Although the percentage of the profit kept by the vendor is significantly less than Street Sheet<\/em>, The Big Issue<\/em> appeals to a much larger audience through its content presumably increasing the net number of sales for the individual vendor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nThis is an image of the front page of a Big Issue UK issue. On the cover is Prince William, a prominent member of the royal British family. He is wearing a bright orange vendor vest and posing with a vendor, apparently helping sell issues. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Big Issue<\/em> is written with the general UK audience in mind. On the front cover of an issue you can see Prince William’s face as he wears the same bright red vest as the vendor he\u2019s posing with. The articles within the issues are not specific to one community or focused explicitly on low-income individuals. Instead, a wide range of topics from literary critiques to marathon training regimens are covered. Many issues feature interviews with prominent celebrities as a way to grab a possible reader’s attention and increase sales for the vendor. While Prince William’s presence on the front cover is a prime example of this appeal to the general public there are plenty of other celebrities featured in The Big Issue<\/em>. For example, the featured article titled “Malcolm McDowell: Kubrick would be shocked at the commercialization of A Clockwork Orange” <\/em>does a wonderful job of capturing any reader’s attention and drawing them in by citing both a famous actor and world-renowned author. This large assortment of topics and use of celebrities makes The Big Issue<\/em> very marketable to a wide range of people resulting in a larger market for the vendors to sell to. In theory, this larger market should help the vendors make up for the cost of the magazines and help them maintain some financial stability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
In terms of indirect support specific to homeless communities, The Big Issue<\/em> also provides articles relevant to low-income communities and dealing with homelessness. There are articles about finance and how to spend money carefully for example the article titled “From benefit claimants to bankers: Here\u2019s what the mini-budget means for your pay packet” which details different methods for creating and sticking to a budget. Additionally, articles like “How the Housing Crisis is Driving Children out of their Homes” are featured with the intent of raising awareness about the issues faced by low-income communities. With the wide range of people that The Big Issue<\/em> reaches, these articles can help draw attention to problems that are often brushed under the carpet or not talked about often enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where The Big Issue<\/em> falters is in its local community reporting. Since The Big Issue<\/em> is a nationwide street paper the attention cannot be set to one specific community or region. This means many stories and individuals fall through the cracks. Take the story in Street Sheet<\/em> titled “Don\u2019t Evict the Flower Lady” where the street paper rallied around an individual woman affectionately nicknamed the Flower Lady by the community. The street paper was able to raise awareness about a single woman’s situation and help her raise funds to fight back against her eviction. With a larger scale paper like The Big Issue<\/em>, it is near impossible to focus on individual stories or advocate for small subsets of the community as effectively as smaller papers like Street Sheet<\/em>. Additionally, many if not most of the stories featured in The Big Issue<\/em> are not written by vendors. There are very few opportunities for vendors to express themselves in The Big Issue<\/em>. The Big Issue<\/em> is less in tune with the needs of individuals than a local street paper would be and subsequently is not able to help these people. Instead, The Big Issue<\/em> is forced to focus only on large-scale issues and constrain the majority of its activism to raise general awareness and direct support for vendors through sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monthly Readers:<\/strong> Not Reported<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Active Vendors:<\/strong> Not Reported<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Profit Kept by Vendor:<\/strong> 62.5%<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amount Made by Vendor:<\/strong> 2 CAD<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cost of Bread in Region: <\/strong>3.26 CAD<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nA street vendor holds a copy of Megaphone Magazine as well as Hope in Shadows (a book of photographs also created by Megaphone Magazine) while wearing his vendor badge on his jacket. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
As the second wealthiest city in Canada and with excellent healthcare, public education, and an affordable housing systems, many expect Vancouver to be a flourishing city with no need for a street paper. However, in the last decade, many residents have been reporting an increase in the number of unhoused people and are frustrated by the lack of aid these people receive from the government. Megaphone Magazine<\/em>, a Vancouver-based street paper, was founded in 2017 specifically to advocate and support the Vancouver low-income and homeless communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Megaphone Magazine<\/em> uses the same method of direct support as The Big Issue,<\/em> vendors buy the magazine for 75 cents and earn 2 dollars for every issue they sell. Although not quite as high as with The Big Issue<\/em>, a significant portion of the profits does not end up in the pockets of the vendors. Megaphone Magazine<\/em> does not have the same resources available to them as The Big Issue<\/em> meaning they cannot implement the same strategy of marketing to a broad audience to help increase sales for the vendors. Instead, this street paper puts a lot of emphasis on indirect forms of support – specifically, providing a creative outlet for its vendors and other local community members.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Megaphone Magazine<\/em> puts a lot of its attention on the voices of vendors with many of the articles written by or about individuals and their unique stories relating to homelessness. In fact, Megaphone Magazine<\/em> has an entire page on its website dedicated to the individual vendors who work with them and features their works, be it autobiographical stories, poems, or even song lyrics. Bernie Bouzane, a vendor employed by Megaphone Magazine <\/em>used his song to detail the story of a young man named Sam and his expulsion from school for wearing clickers on his boots. The entire song is about this young man longing to be a part of \u201cthe fashionable crew\u201d by wearing clickers on his boots which infuriates his teachers and principal who demand he \u201cwalk a different path\u201d as he was \u201ca disgrace to [his] classmates\u201d. Sam\u2019s story deals with the idea of societal pressures and risking everything in an attempt to find a sense of belonging. Not only do these stories provide individual vendors with an outlet for creative expression, but they also provide a platform for musicians like Bernie to share their stories and gain some recognition for their passions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All kinds of different forms of self-expression are valued at Megaphone Magazine<\/em>. There are annual photography contests where vendors can photograph their communities or allow themselves to be photographed. These pictures are put together in a collection that depicts the resilience and beauty within low-income communities and raises awareness about current issues. These collections of photographs are a second source of direct support (albeit only once a year) as vendors can buy the collections for 10 USD and sell them for 20 USD (a similar system to the physical street paper).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Megaphone Magazine<\/em> may have fewer resources than The Big Issue<\/em>, their focus on elevating homeless voices is an excellent form of indirect support which allows vendors and other community members to express themselves and have their voices heard as they speak about their lives, their problems, and discuss possible solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nThis is an excerpt from an untitled song submitted to Megaphone Magazines vendor stories program where vendors can share their stories through different mediums. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nThis is picture taken of Bernie Bouzane, a vendor for Megaphone Magazine and the musician who wrote the untitled song to the left. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Final thoughts <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
All three of the street papers detailed above take a separate approach when it comes to supporting homeless and low-income communities in their respective countries. While Street Sheet<\/em> allows vendors to keep the entirety of their profits and do not charge for their magazines, The Big Issue<\/em> and Megaphone Magazine<\/em> both have the vendors buy the magazine before they can go to sell it. The Big Issu<\/em>e attempts to make up for this by marketing itself to a much wider audience to drive up sales while Megaphone Magazine<\/em> provides an additional source of income in the form of the annual photography collection vendors can sell.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In terms of indirect support, all three magazines take drastically different approaches to supporting their communities. Street Sheet<\/em> places a huge amount of emphasis on individuals and advocates directly for marginalized communities, either through calls for justice, articles raising awareness about someone’s troubles or by simply announcing life milestones in their paper to help build a stronger sense of unity and give vendors a sense of normalcy. The Big Issue<\/em> is not able to focus on individual people or regions and must remain fairly broad as they encompass the entirety of the UK. This means the street paper has a hard time focusing on specific issues and is forced to concentrate on the broader issues within the UK. Individuals like the Flower Lady would fall through the cracks in The Big Issue<\/em> while Street Sheet<\/em> was able to advocate for her. However, The Big Issue\u2019s<\/em> wider audience makes raising awareness far more effective and important issues faced by the general homeless community can be brought to the public\u2019s attention easier with The Big Issue<\/em> than with Street Sheet<\/em>. Finally, Megaphone Magazine<\/em> takes a unique approach to providing indirect support by focusing most of its efforts on creating a space for vendors to express themselves through many different mediums. These acts of self-expression, ranging from poetry to photography, can help vendors share their personal stories, raise awareness about current issues faced by homeless communities, and follow their passions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is near impossible to quantify which approach is best when it comes to supporting homeless communities. Each of these three papers takes a very similar approach to direct support but ofter vastly different forms of indirect support. To gauge which is best we could look at the net number of people impacted by the paper. The Big Issue <\/em>would be first using that metric purely based on the size of the region it covers. We could look at the most community-oriented paper which would be Street Sheet<\/em> as they undeniably have the strongest advocacy for their local community members. We could look at which paper provides the more therapeutic forms of support that allow vendors to develop and\/or further artistic passions. This would be Megaphone Magazine<\/em>. Every paper has its strengths and weaknesses and, depending on a need seen in the community, the papers have adapted to fit those needs (be it advocacy against police brutality or photography contests). Each street paper tailors its content and system of operation based on the community it aims to serve and is expected to adapt as these needs evolve. In order to best serve a local community street papers must<\/strong> listen to the vulnerable populations it aims to support. Without some kind of communication with or analysis of these communities meaningful change is impossible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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