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By Melissa Ramos
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Photo by Andrea Erazo
Many StreetWise vendors are no longer homeless, thanks to the income from their sales as well as the services StreetWise provides for them. |
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Homelessness is not a topic most people wish to read about every week. And yet,
StreetWise, a newspaper about homelessness and the struggles of the working poor,
has managed to win a weekly circulation of 25,000, one reader at a time.
“StreetWise strives to educate Chicago on affordable housing and how poverty
affects everyone, by expanding and heightening the voice of day laborers,”
says Rachel Carvlin, editorial assistant for StreetWise.
StreetWise vendors don’t quite blend in with the rest of the sidewalk solicitors.
Perhaps it’s because what they’re selling demonstrates their commitment
to get off the sidewalks; perhaps it’s because they tend to bring a sense
of humor to their sales. Either way, they’ve been so successful in the 10
years since StreetWise was launched, they’ve given the newspaper its current,
impressive circulation and established some stability of their own.
People who purchase a copy find a paper that covers local and national politics
and legislation as well as stories about the human side of poverty and efforts
to combat it. Interspersed with these more serious topics are service pieces about
everything from fad diets to entertainment.
“StreetWise is a community paper that helps inform the community of its
own issues, points of interest, things that behoove them to know about,”
says Olyvia Cobiskey, a part-time instructor and graduate student at Columbia
College Chicago.
When someone buys a copy of StreetWise for one dollar, the vendor keeps 65 cents.
Vendors wear ID so buyers can be certain that they are legitimate.
“The mission of StreetWise is to simply empower men and women who are homeless
or at risk of being so as they work towards self-sufficiency and gainful employment,”
says Anthony Oliver, executive director of StreetWise, Inc.
Toward this end, StreetWise opened the Work Empowerment Center in 1998. The Center
teaches computer, business and financial skills and sponsors writing workshops
for vendors. The goal is to help the vendors find full-time employment, economic
stability and self-respect.
“In eight years we’ve helped over 4,000 men and women to pursue their
dream to go out to work and earn an income,” Oliver says.
“I freelance for StreetWise because it enables the homeless to build confidence,
people and business skills, and manage [their] income, and it offers business
classes and a chance to interact with others who are trying for the same thing,”
adds Cobiskey.
StreetWise is one of the largest street papers in the country, according to The
North American Street Newspaper Association, which assists street papers throughout
the country. It now employs more than 3,600 vendors.
Since 1992, the living conditions of these vendors have dramatically improved.
Ten years ago, all the vendors were homeless. Today 14 percent of the vendors
are living in shelters and the rest are able to afford room and board.
Still, some passersby steer clear of StreetWise vendors.
“I think the paper probably has stories about the homeless and the unfortunate
lives they lead, and maybe has ads for low-income jobs and places for safe shelter,”
says Sharon Ferguson, a lifelong Chicago resident. “But I have never wanted
to give a dollar to the people who sell it, probably because they scare me.”
But StreetWise is growing still, clearly making progress overcoming the reservations
of people like Ferguson.
“Remember,” says Oliver, “Our mission is not about a hand out,
but a hand up.” 
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