The Office: Street Sense Style

The Last Word: New Vendor Manager

2009-03-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Gregory Martin, Vendor Manager for Street Sense. I have been in this position for a little over a month now. You may remember me as a vendor from Gallery Place Metro station, 20 & K or even 18 & K. First of all I would like to thank all of you who bought the paper from me and gave me donations, especially the pastor who gave me monies for my rent deposit, the lady at Gallery Place that would give me $20 dollars and wouldn’t even buy the paper, and the gentleman at 20 & K with his words of wisdom. Your thoughtfulness and generosity were greatly appreciated. Since becoming Vendor Manager I’ve been walking the streets observing vendors. I’ve also been asking customers for their perspectives on how things are done and what we can do to make it better. Your responses have been great, especially when a woman told me she bought a paper from a vendor because of his pretty smile. I have been receiving emails with compliments and complaints and please keep them coming. As some of you may know, I will respond as quickly as I can.
Because I’ve been on both sides of homelessness, I just want to help make this company grow and with my experience I believe we can make it work and make it better. I know the vendors appreciate your donations. As a matter of fact, we are in need of restaurant review donations. If you would like to donate you can email me (gregory@StreetSense.org) or mail it to the office. If you have any comments or suggestions please let me know.
Thank you!

-Gregory Martin, Vendor Manager

The Last Word: Comforts of Home

2009-03-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

The harsh-sounding bell jangled as it does a hundred times a day here at Street Sense, signaling that a vendor is downstairs, needing to buy papers, needing to come up, maybe make a phone call or ask for a dry pair of socks or write a haiku.

That afternoon, it was volunteer Roberta Haber’s answer the door, so she disappeared down the stairs. When she came back a little while later, she sighed.

It had been one of her favorite vendors, a hardworking guy with a shy, luminous smile and a habit of talking to himself.

After he lost his place at the shelter, he had, in sly, yet urgent contravention
of Street Sense house rules, stowed a duffle bag in the office storage closet.

And when he had rung the bell, he had asked only for a small favor, Roberta explained. “He just wanted to look at his stuff.”

Every night, I turn a key, and a door opens into a small, well ordered place in the world that is mine. I switch on the light and I see my books there, and my couch and chair and rug. My stuff is there, silently greeting me. It is with a sense of gratitude and awe that I enter. I am home.

When the last vestige of home is a bag in a closet, there must still be some comfort in looking at it, touching it, in knowing it’s still there.

Some vendors use some of the dollars they earn selling Street Sense to pay for the storage of their things, what is left of the homes they once had, before they were thrown out or locked up, before they fell behind or got sick. Sometimes they cannot make the payments and lose those things.

I talked to a vendor recently about the loss of the things in his storage unit. He mentioned with the most regret the loss of his notebooks, his writings.
“You are still the poet who wrote those words,” I reminded him. “You will have to rewrite them.”

Are there things to be gained, to be learned, from losing the last vestige, the last comfort of home and then rebuilding, rewriting one’s life? There must be, I thought to myself, hoping his lost words would return to him in a fierce new flame.

--Mary Otto

Grayer Times

2009-02-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

After glancing at this issue of Street Sense or the previous one, some of you might have wondered if something has changed. You might have questioned: “Why is my paper so thin?”, “Why does it look so gray?” or “Is this paper smaller?”

Well, something has changed. As you have read, here in this publication and in various other media, the economy looks bleaker every day and these tough times are hitting all individuals and businesses hard. And nonprofits like Street Sense are not immune. As the Catch–22 of social services nonprofits goes, in a bad economy demand for services rises, but the money to fund such services becomes scarcer.
Street Sense has seen its vendor numbers increase 35% over the past year, with circulation increasing by nearly 30%. Yet at the end of 2008, individual donations, while numerous, were not nearly as large as past years. Grant income also fell short. And many predict both of these areas of nonprofit income will only get worse in 2009.

To prepare Street Sense for a worst–case financial scenario in 2009, we decided to cut back on our expenses. That’s where the changes to the actual newspaper came in. We decided to shrink the paper by an inch vertically, only shrinking the printable area by half an inch. We also decided to switch from bright white 35 lb. paper to a 20 lb. newsprint paper, the kind we used when we first started publishing Street Sense.

These two small changes will save the organization about $450 each issue, or more than $11,000 a year. And with a budget of just over $205,000 for 2009, $11,000 is a nice little chunk of change to save. While losing color on the front, back and center would also have saved money, we decided it was important to keep, helping with visibility and vendor sales.

So yes, Street Sense may look a little grayer and smaller than it has it the past, but you are still getting your dollar’s worth and then some as our editorial content — I think — has been better than ever, with hard–hitting news stories and unique features. Also each time you buy a paper, you can be confident that even more of our resources, and yours, will go directly to empowering our vendors rather than to aesthetics.

--Laura Thomspon Osuri

The Last Word: Peace for Vets

2009-01-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

An amazing event? I
never would have
dreamed it! “It is
a time for change,” said Barack
Obama, the nation’s
first African American president.
The country is hoping
for better times ahead. In
the meantime, God only
knows what is taking place
on earth. Israel is attacking Gaza, bad weather, days of hard rain,
young African American men killing each other.
However, it will be an Obama–Jam at the capital this month, with
all the big names, Oprah and all the other stars.
Hopefully there will be local change also. A former U.S. Army
Green Beret, a war veteran awarded the Silver Star and the Purple
Heart found himself homeless. He was an African American, facing
unemployment with bad times and trouble adjusting back home.
Living on the streets of Washington, D.C. two blocks from the
White House, the flashbacks are gone but the tough times are still
here. So with this new Administration that calls for change, let’s hope
that this combat vet will find peace. And we as a people will find the
Promised Land.

--James Fetherson

Street Sense Angel

2009-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

“Believe me, it will all work out in the end.”
That’s a phrase I have often uttered to many a Street Sense staff member, intern and volunteer. And most of the time I get a roll-of-the-eyes kind of a response as the person continues to worry.
But after being at Street Sense for a long time you really do come to truly believe in the above quote. You continue to work your hardest, but simply stop stressing so much.
Ever since the beginning of Street Sense, things have always worked out, even if the breakthrough comes sometimes just a few hours from deadline. Sometimes the challenge is not having enough articles to fill the pages. Then a random volunteer comes through with a first-class article. Other times there is barely enough money to make payroll. Then the next day a hefty check for unsolicited grant comes in the mail. Things just work out.
Co-founder Ted Henson and I like to refer to these last minute mini-miracles as the work of the “Street Sense Angel.”
Yes, if you are wondering, I am religious, and I do abide by a saying at my church: “Work like it depends on you, and pray like it depends on God.” And while I do think that God has a hand in these inexplicable events, I do not think of a higher power when I refer to the “Street Sense Angel.”
This Angel is not a single being but the commitment and passion from many angels that make up all of the supporters of Street Sense.
It’s the volunteer who randomly appears the day before the new issue to gracefully layout out two pages
It’s the donor who decided to contribute 10% of her last paycheck to Street Sense.
It’s the intern who shows up on her day off to help get subscriptions out on time.
It’s the board member who adopts, at the last minute, several vendors for Christmas to make sure everyone gets a gift
It’s the reader who tracked down a vendor’s family to turn the vendor’s Christmas Eve into the best one ever.
You are the Street Sense Angel. And without you there would be a whole lot more worry and stress and far fewer newspapers and vendors at Street Sense.
So if you feel prompted to write a large check for Street Sense in the middle of your regular work day or you are prompted to volunteer some amazing talent to Street Sense for no particular reason or if you simply just feel prompted to write a kind email about a vendor, please do not resist. It’s the Street Sense Angel calling you, and whatever you have to offer is filling some great need you probably don’t even know about but will be crucial in making it “all work out in the end.”

--Laura Thomspon Osuri

The Last Word: An Eye-Opening Experience

2008-12-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

Going into my internship at Street Sense, I felt ready to leave an impact on the lives of the homeless vendors. I also wanted to show that I was a determined worker, make some necessary professional contacts, sharpen my journalism skills, and get a taste of D.C. Going in, I didn’t expect that I would get more then I could ever give. I didn’t expect that my internship would reward me with more than a couple stories in a great nonprofit newspaper.

Interning at Street Sense two days a week for three months has been the most rewarding experience an 18-year-old moving D.C. would hope to have. Street Sense has provided me with the opportunity to mature, meet amazing people, and understand what homelessness is.

Before working at Street Sense I didn’t understand the complexity of homelessness. Coming from a suburb in central New Jersey, I always looked at poverty and homelessness as if they were some far away problem that I would never experience directly. Working at Street Sense has taught me that the effects of poverty and homelessness can be felt all around, and can easily and suddenly touch anyone’s life. While interning at Street Sense, I have became familiar with the real world, a world away from the shelter of my family. I discovered aspects of life that I came to college in hopes of discovering.

What I have learned about homelessness comes in the form of intellectual gifts and kind gestures felt around the office daily. The more vendors started treating me like a friend, the more I was able to understand that homeless people are no different than I am.

I have also perfected my ability to work under extreme conditions. I don’t know what I would have done if I had an internship with no distractions. The Street Sense office isn’t exactly the most serene place to put together a paper, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t look forward the times that Jeffrey McNeil came in and put together his political slogan signs or when I got to walk to the post office with Lisa, or Mary.

Street Sense has given me the perspective needed to value every second of life and to push through the stressful or difficult times because they are always a little something in the world that will make you smile.

At Street Sense, there was always something to do; there was always something that I wanted to do. As took on more tasks, sometimes all at once, and as I became acquainted with more vendors, I felt like I was digging to the center of the thousand unanswered questions about poverty and the politics of poverty in Washington, D.C. Learning about homelessness is learning about an important D.C. subculture necessary to understanding our nation’s capital.

The most rewarding lesson I can take away from interning at Street Sense is to value people for their personality and not whether they have a home or not. I have accepted the idea that you can learn something from anyone and I am glad that I allowed myself to learn an important life lesson from our vendors: the lesson of struggle and perseverance.

--Carol Cummings

The Last Word: Doing Good and Getting Real

2008-12-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

I was starving. I did not have money to buy food; I’m an intern. I did not have time to go home and grab something.

And then, a vendor offered me part of his Subway sandwich; I almost cried. It was deadline day and this meant a 12-hour-day, the usual internet hassles, laying out pages at the last minute and getting work done while vendors came and went. That tuna on wheat – it got me through the rest of the day.

As I came into this internship I hoped to make a difference, get some good clips, lay out pages. I did not expect that the relationship between vendors and interns would be a two-way street.

Sometimes it was. But sometimes it wasn’t. And sometimes it felt like social work. Somtimes I felt frustrated when that came into conflict with other work, like redesigning pages or writing a story. Sometimes I felt like people didn’t understand that if we didn’t get our work done, there would be no paper to sell.
Sometimes people would come in under the influence of drugs or alcohol. And some of those times I was here on my own with a volunteer and another vendor. I’ve never been trained in social work, so those situations could be nerve-wracking. But I knew that the volunteer and vendor would have my back.

I came into this a die-hard liberal, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, sure that homelessness and poverty are simply systemic, and always forgiving of the individual. I still believe this.

Now I recognize that people can have a part in their destiny. I began to feel frustrated when people occasionally came in asking for food or clothing, having received something by chance on an earlier occasion. But when we said no, we gave out everything, they would get angry. Or people would sometimes for their ten monthly emergency papers, inadvertently ask for more, and then say I needed to get in the “Christmas spirit.”

It was hard to keep my head on straight when I knew Street Sense did not have to give out the extra ten papers a month. Poverty and homelessness is systemic. But social service agencies are here to enable people to get back on their feet. There is a huge element of free will that goes into getting your own place that I see now, cannot be denied.

People sometimes come in with their issues off the street and dump those on us. At first, I did not know how to handle it. Now, I would not take it personally.
The Street Sense office is like a stereotypical WWII field hospital. Phones ring constantly, I never know what desk I’ll be sitting at when I come in, foot traffic is constant, no one can ever find the bathroom key, the mentally and physically disabled tell their woes or grumble about the woman who told him/her to get a “real job.”

After working in this half social-service agency, half-news room, I could work anywhere and deal with anyone. Before coming here I felt more comfortable in the presence of local political players and even celebrities. Now, I’m comfortable around ex-cons and guys who live on the street.

There have been so many times when I would go home grumbling to myself. But then, there were times when a guy gave each of us in the office a pink rose (the fulltime staff is all female). Or when I’ve run into vendors on the street and they’ve recognized me and given me a hug. Or the time a vendor gave me silver earrings on my birthday. Or when a vendor gave me half his sandwich.

Lisa V. Gillespie just finished a semester-long editorial internship and graduates in a week from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with a degree in mass communication. She plans on moving back to the District to pursue a career in journalism.

Mary Otto

2008-11-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

On the day back in June, as I walked here to Street Sense for my job interview, I was feeling pretty homeless myself.

The downsizing at the Washington Post, where I had worked as a reporter for seven years, had been a shattering experience.

The knowledge that mine was one of thousands of journalism jobs being cut throughout the country was little consolation. The daily newspaper is dying, everyone says. Yet newspapers have been my life for more than 20 years. The first time I held a reporter’s notebook in my hand, I knew, with a bolt of sudden certainty, who I was, and why I was born. I was put here to write people’s words and to tell their stories.

I heard them everywhere, amid blizzards and crime scenes, in hospitals and shelters, in town halls and in the halls of Congress.

I looked, I listened and I wrote. And in those years of reporting, in spite of shyness, insecurity and a host of personal faults and quirks, I managed to create a life for myself, and to find a voice for myself and a place in the world.

With the loss of my job, all that seemed like it was being torn away. I’m sure my feelings are not unique. I ache for the other workers across the country whose jobs are vanishing, whose hearts are breaking, as I sit and write this.

And I only hope that they manage to find new workplaces where they can be reborn, as I did.

For me, my sense of grief and loss started to make a little sense when I read the online advertisement for the editor’s position at Street Sense.

I’ll never forget arriving at the Church of the Epiphany and climbing the stairs to the Street Sense office, peering into the tiny, threadbare newsroom.

A homeless newspaper! Could I do this?
“Everything I have ever done has helped prepare me for this,” I assured Ted and Laura. I got the job.

But there have been many times since that I have been reminded of the obvious, that nothing could have really prepared me for this work.

Homelessness is terrible, dehumanizing, chaotic, exhausting. Yet the people who come here and write these stories, help lay out these pages and sell these papers manage to triumph over hardship every day. Their talent, courage and fierce persistence is utterly humbling.

I hope my life is long enough to gain the combination of patience, wisdom, compassion and imagination to truly do my job as their editor.

In the meantime, I do my imperfect best. And every day here at the Church of the Epiphany offers another epiphany or two.

Five Crazy Years on a Grassroots Mission

2008-11-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

Five years, half a decade - wow! Back on the dreary morning of Nov. 15, 2003 when our first issue was released, I could not have even imagined that Street Sense would be going so strong and would have grown so much in just five years. I think I have said something similar on every anniversary of Street Sense, but its worth repeating as the success of Street Sense continuously amazes me.

But it’s not just the success that amazes me, but that we have done so staying true to a foundation that me and cofounder Ted Henson established even before this scrappy little paper had a name. The first tenet was that the content of the newspaper would present as objective articles as possible and would not advocate for one issue or another.

Over the course of five years, this foundation has helped Street Sense become known as a reliable and credible news source when it comes to issues related to poverty and homelessness. Several news outlets – including NBC4 and WAMU - now call us when they want background on a homelessness topic or if they want a homeless person to talk to for an article or news segment. Additionally, over the last year our articles have been reprinted in a handful of smaller publications including the Pew Charitable Trust’s Election Weekly.

The second tenet we had was that Street Sense would not simply use homeless people to sell papers (or “pimp the homeless” as many terminated vendors like to say) but that they would be involved at every level and we would try at every level to help them to get off the streets.

Most Street Sense vendors now view the organization as more than just an employer, but as a caring, family-like environment where they can not only get help but also get respect. We currently have one vendor on the board of directors, two vendors that train new recruits, three vendors that help in the office, and dozens more that write and help with the production of the paper. And over the last year we started connecting vendors to readers looking for help with odd jobs and we are working to better train our vendors to transfer their newspaper sales skills into other sales jobs.

Holding true to these foundations, Street Sense has been able to grow from a project of the National Coalition for the Homeless with a dozen vendors and five thousand issues a month to a stable nonprofit with three staff members, 80 active vendors and more than 30,000 issues each month. And in the last year alone the growth of vendors and newspaper is astounding and has already passed our expectations with still two months left in the year. And in just a few short months we will print our millionth copy!

This growth is not because of expensive strategic marketing, recruiting or promotion plans. But it simply came through the grassroots word of mouth promotion from reader to new reader, donor to potential donor and vendors to vendor recruits. Street Sense indeed began as a very grassroots effort. And holding true to our editorial and vendor tenets, we are and will remain a very grassroots organization.

Thanks to all our readers, donors, volunteers and – especially - vendors for contributing to Street Sense’s success and growth over the last five years. And please continue to spread the word over the next five years.

I can hardly imagine a decade of Street Sense in Washington D.C. But as the first five went by lightning fast, Street Sense will be in the double digits before we know it.

-- Laura Thomspon Osuri

Intern Insight: Homelessness - A Loss for Words

2008-06-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

by Brittany Aubin

A professor once started his creative memoir class by admonishing students to write the story they thought they would never tell anyone. Five years later, this is the column I thought I would never write.

I joined Street Sense six months ago. I passed through the church door as a second–semester senior, hoping to gain valuable clips and salve a guilty conscience. I was still reeling from the disconnect between my own American University privilege and the lives of the city’s 6,000 homeless residents. I could write about that now, about how Street Sense bridges the divide of dignity between classes, placing faces, personalities and stories to the oft–avoided homeless population.

I could write about conversations with Jeff McNeil, with Moyo Onibuje, with Cliff Carle. Or moments of girl talk with Patricia Jefferson, Patty Smith and Alicia Jones. Or the kindness Orin Andrus shows for his cat, Cuddles. Or the smooth sales talk of Conrad Cheek Jr.

That column would be easy to write. It would also be easy to read. Because you’ve read it before. It’s the homelessness paradigm we feel most comfortable in.

Yet, nothing about being without a home is comfortable. Not the park benches or shelters. Not dehumanization or degradation. And the paradigms shouldn’t be, either.

Homeless, homelessness, homeless residents, homeless person – these words litter my articles at Street Sense. Nothing could be more literal. A coded adjective or noun that strips its article of identity and hope, wrapping gray woolen blankets across an objective black and white typeface. It is a panhandling addition to the lexicon, asking readers to throw out sympathy like spare coins into a cup.

I have come to hate this meaning that lurks behind the word ‘homeless.’ Yet, these two simple syllables have infiltrated my conversations and my paragraphs, a semantic necessity that causes me to reduce 6,000 unique individuals to a collective unsheltered entity.

‘Homeless’ when breathed into conversation among polite company often elicits a similar response, most like the one people reserve for babies and puppies. Creatures devoid of highly individual personalities and entirely dependent on the kindness of wiser, sophisticated humans for sustenance and protection.

At a recent Interagency Council on Homelessness meeting, activist Cheryl Barnes bristled at the term “chronically homeless.” Noting her own history of homelessness, Barnes resented the label as too clinical, too hopeless. This term may power policy and aid advocacy, but it does little to alter the anonymity and powerlessness of the individuals to whom it applies.

This hate for ‘homeless’ with its gray–blanketed innuendos complicated my editorial internship. I have probed my articles and actions for pity like a doctor pressing for tumors beneath the flesh. I know there were moments when I pitied and moments when I lost hope. Moments when I wanted to ban these people and the narrow jail of a word they were pushed into from my otherwise uncomplicated existence.

Still, for now, a continued dependence on ‘homeless’ is necessary, if only because no other term exists. It is not within a journalist’s power to redefine. That task lies in the community itself, both those who are domiciled and those who are not.

For me, the word will remain deep and dark; full of a shame and a tinge of guilt and a quiet desperation and a bitter slap across the face of society. My parting wish for Street Sense readers is that my reporting has brought a fuller understanding of ‘homeless’ and a challenge to the dominant framework in which this issue is enclosed.

I didn’t want to write this column. I didn’t want to acknowledge my own shortcomings or, worse, the shortcomings of words. As an activist and a journalist, I see a world whose justice is shaped and secured by words. Our language is powerful, rich, and wide. Its failure here scares me. In this, there is perhaps the only nuance where ‘homeless’ succeeds – it makes me uncomfortable.

From the Director's Desk: Returning to Work After Maternity Leave

2008-06-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

by Laura Thompson Osuri

Wednesday, June 4 was my first official day in the Street Sense office after having a baby 10 weeks ago. While I and my baby boy, Isaac, had stopped by several times during my maternity leave, this was my first time there without him, and this was my first time since he was born that I was committed to focusing my day’s energy on work, not taking care of a baby.

I was not happy the morning of June 4. I cried as I left Isaac with my mother–in–law. I knew Isaac would be alright as he was in good hands but I was not sure if I would be alright. I have grown quite attached to this little man since he arrived in my life on March 26, and was not ready to leave him all day. Several weeks before June 4, I had already started working on Street Sense stuff from home and had gotten quite comfortable with checking e–mails and making a few phone calls while he was napping. Being in the office all day was quite a different story.

But when I got in the office there were immediately several other things to think about: planning for the fundraiser, paying bills, checking in on grants, organizing intern projects and a variety of other tasks. And it was actually nice to be around all the craziness of the office and see all the vendors again. And surprisingly, I fell right back into my multi–tasking Street Sense routine, and I found myself working just like I did before March 26, as if things had not change at all in my life.

But things have definitely changed. And I knew they would but I did not realize by how much. Before having Isaac, I thought that after 10 weeks of maternity leave I would be itching to go back to Street Sense and continue being a productive member of the workforce. But honestly, I don’t feel that way at all. Instead I have gained a new–found respect and envy for stay–at–home moms.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to abandon Street Sense. I am still fully committed to it and its growth and success. But now after nearly five years of giving my all to Street Sense, I have something else more important to watch grow and succeed.

So I am not really sure where I am going with this editorial rambling. I was hoping the point of the editorial would be that I was dreading going back but when I did, I realized how much I missed Street Sense. But that is not the case. The case really is that I am conflicted and confused. What I thought were my ideals and priorities have been turned on their heads, and where I used to be notoriously strong and decisive, I am now weepy mess when I think about the future.

I want to put all my energy into making Isaac happy and healthy but at the same time I feel obligated to Street Sense and all that I have helped to create. So I guess I just have to figure out that balance, as I am sure millions of working moms before me have. Who knew being a mom and the executive director of Street Sense would be so confusing?

From the Editor

2008-05-30T06:28:00.000-07:00

Dear readers,

This issue marks my last week with Street Sense. Effective June 2, I’m resigning from my position to start an exciting new chapter as a full-time mother. Thank you to the vendors, volunteers and readers who have in the last year helped grow our paper’s biweekly circulation to nearly 12,000 and practically doubled our traffic at www.streetsense.org. I’m confident Street Sense can only continue to get stronger and better from here.

Koki joined Street Sense as editor in chief in June 2007.

A Different Sort of Privilege

2008-05-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

by Sarah Nydick Cheshire

I guess you could call me privileged. I go to a private school, live in a lofty suburban house, eat healthy and go to the dentist regularly. I wouldn’t say I was handed life on a silver platter, but it’s not as if I go to bed hungry.

At my small Quaker high school in Durham, N.C., I am distinguished by my peers as "the political girl,” or sometimes even “the annoyingly political girl.” I am the one who can be found organizing lunchtime vigils for victims of genocide, posting flyers about some peace march or another, or obstinately telling a guy off for a supposed sexist comment. I guess you could say that I am your average “privileged white girl who wants to change the world.”

My school allots a small period of time at the end of the year for students to participate in internships at occupations that interest them.

When it came to organizing mine, naturally, I wanted to do something political. I e-mailed a few social justice coalitions and human rights organizations, all of which either didn’t respond to me at all or e-mailed me back saying something along the lines of “Thanks for your interest, sweetheart. Come back when you’re in college, okay?”

I came across Street Sense as a last resort; a product of desperate late-night Web surfing a week before my internship proposal was due. But the vibe I got from them was different. Koki Smith, the editor of Street Sense, called me back almost immediately and seemed to be at least borderline enthusiastic at the prospect of having two high school students hang around.

Several weeks later, my friend Naomi and I buzzed the intercom into Street Sense just 45 minutes after stepping off the train at Union Station, heavy duffel bags afoot and sweating in the mid-May heat.

“Hey, are you guys vendors?” A lady opened the door and led us up the stairs into the main office.

“No, interns actually.”

Over the next couple of days, we answered the door, organized the office and, most significantly, got to hear the stories of vendors coming in and out of the office.

Before coming to Street Sense, whenever I would walk past a homeless person on the street, I would either downgrade his life as something worthy of pity or see him as the tragic product of some larger-scale political issue.

None of the people I met at Street Sense were in any way the “helpless and disillusioned by society” image of homeless that I expected. Each one had a different story, a different ambition and a different reason for being where they are.

The only real difference I found between myself and the vendors at Street Sense did not have to do with differences in personality or social surroundings, but with my own label as “privileged.” They don’t have that status on their side.

After my experience at Street Sense, I am working toward putting a face with my politics and seeing homeless people not for the identity of the system that has failed them, but for their own identities as people.

Sarah Nydick Cheshire is a sophomore at Carolina Friends School in Durham, N.C. She and Naomi Eliza, also a sophomore, recently spent two days volunteering at Street Sense.

From the Editor: Take Two

2008-05-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

by Kaukab Jhumra Smith

We’ve received a number of e-mails, phone calls and personal reactions from readers and vendors about our coverage of drugs and homelessness in the April 16 and April 30 issues of Street Sense. I wrote about some early reactions in my last column (“Cracking It Open,” 4/30) and we are printing several representative letters on these pages.

However, I think it’s worth another short note to document the distinction in many vendors’ heads between our decision to publish the stories by Brittany Aubin and the decision to publish close-up photographs of a man smoking a crack pipe (4/16) and of a pair of hands loading a crack pipe (4/30). For many vendors, the photographs are the problem, particularly on the front page of the paper. They were taken in downtown D.C. by a volunteer, Dan Wilkinson, who spent an hour and a half with the subject, disclosed his assignment with Street Sense and received his consent to photograph him. The man told Dan he was not homeless but came to the area near Franklin shelter to buy and use crack.

I’ve listened to enough offended vendors now to understand that these photos could serve as a trigger for individuals already struggling with a substance abuse problem. And while I apologize for any inadvertent harm the photos may have caused, I don’t know if I would change my original decision. Because I also received a call from a woman last week, who thanked us for printing photos that helped her identify the instruments she had seen lying around different places. “You have no idea how many families out there you are helping,” she said.

Thanks to everyone who shared an opinion. Your perspectives strengthen Street Sense into a paper that fosters debate and understanding on difficult community issues.

Confessions of a Volunteer

2008-05-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

by Colleen Dolan

Unlike most Street Sense volunteers, it was neither my selflessness nor my willingness to sacrifice my free time that got me here. Contrarily, I was brought here to satisfy a basic course requirement. That, and the fact that I wanted to expand my social life.

I am a first–year student at George Washington University. This semester, I signed on to take a “Writing for Social Change” course – a course I registered for based on the fact that it did not meet on Fridays. For the class, we were to spend 20 hours at a community organization which, I figured after painstaking debate, would be a small sacrifice for having Thursday nights free to expand my social life.

Day 1 of the class proved to be a rude awakening, however. Participants in my small seminar went around the room discussing community service they had already participated in.

“President of the community service club.”

“I went to Africa with Seeds of Peace.”

“I raised thousands to feed children in poor countries.”

Suffice it to say, I was in way over my head.

It was on this day that we chose the organizations we would work with. As a declared journalism major, I was in luck and immediately signed on to work with Street Sense.

It was my first meeting with Koki, editor of Street Sense, which made me slightly unsure of what I was in for. She asked about my history in journalism and I gave her a brief description of working on my high school newspaper, slipping in the fact that I had a few stints on ABC–TV in New York. Naturally, she asked how I had managed to be on arguably the biggest news channel in New York City. I gave a response that has become almost mechanical, explaining that my parents work as TV journalists. But the usual response of “Getting into the family business?” or “Really? What are their names?” didn’t come.

Needless to say, I was surprised but also rather relieved. In fact, it was this implication that I needed to prove myself that led me to agree to come into the office six hours a week, rather than the one hour required by my course. This was a decision for which I was immediately grateful.

Once I walked into the office, I knew this would be an experience entirely different than what I had anticipated. Usually an outgoing person, I was rendered unsure of what to say in front of the extroverted vendors and volunteers.

I spent my early hours at Street Sense quietly running toward the stairs when the doorbell rang and issuing vendors their papers. I was taken aback by their “Hey pretty girl, how are you?” attitude, and unsure of what to say.

After my first few weeks, I realized my nerves were getting the better of me. At this point, I began making a clear effort to know the different vendors – quickly being able to say hello to them by name as I greeted them at the door.

The vendors were genuinely unlike anything I expected. On a busy afternoon, Conrad Cheek Jr. took the paper sign–out sheet from me. “Look, I’ll show you how to do it faster,” he said, proceeding to teach me a superior way to give out large numbers of papers. Jeffery McNeil asked me for advice on what to put on posters and in his articles, while cheerfully telling me about the job interview he had later that day. Brittany Aubin, the intern I worked side–by–side with on Wednesdays, wrote article upon article, fixed Web site glitches and then jetted out just in time for evening classes at American University. I was truly surrounded by remarkable, exceptional people.

After receiving only a B– on the paper for my writing class (on which I had slaved away endlessly), I found myself on the verge of giving up the class. It was only my time at Street Sense that encouraged me to reconsider.

With classes now ending, I’m not looking for an excuse to get out of this last week at Street Sense, which will not count toward any class credit. Rather, I am looking forward to sitting in the office a little longer and getting to know the intelligent, charismatic vendors and volunteers a bit better before saying good–bye.

From the Editor: Cracking It Open

2008-05-02T09:42:00.000-07:00

by Kaukab Jhumra Smith

Things got a bit heated at the Street Sense office recently.

At least three vendors – Francine Triplett, Conrad Cheek Jr. and Alicia Jones – were offended at the photo essay, “The D.C. Streets: The Other Side,” that Street Sense ran as a color spread in its April 16 issue.

The photo essay, by volunteer photographer Dan Wilkinson, was the result of many hours spent patiently cultivating sources downtown. It included an extreme close up of a man smoking crack near Franklin shelter on 13th and K streets, NW. Only the man’s lips and part of his moustache were in the frame; the focus was on his hands and on the glass pipe held to his mouth.

Francine was upset because the photograph played into a stereo-type, she said: “People already think that homeless people do nothing but drugs.” (Dan says the man told him he is not homeless and does not live at Franklin but only goes to the area to buy and smoke crack.)

Alicia said there were plenty of positive things in the city that the photographer could have focused on instead.

Other objections were that the photograph was unsuitable for children and would upset teachers and parents who use the paper as a teaching tool on social matters.

However, the same issue of Street Sense features a front-page editorial by vendor Jeffery McNeil, “Drug Use Cuts Across Class and Race,” which argues that drug addiction can’t be blamed just on the homeless or the poor. Taken together, I think Jeffery’s editorial and Dan’s photos provide an interesting counterpoint and illustrate our mission of “elevating voices and public debate.”

Other Street Sense vendors have actively helped guide our reporting during the weeks that reporter Brittany Aubin and photographer Dan Wilkinson have explored the subject of drugs and homelessness for our April 16 and April 30 issues.

“People need to know why the shelter system isn’t working and why transitional housing isn’t working,” one vendor said, pointing out how hard it is to escape addiction when drug dealers frequent the spaces right outside shelters. He wants readers to understand.

Meanwhile, Brittany has faced similar objections during her work on this issue’s cover story on the obstacles to recovery for homeless addicts. “I have consistently faced hurdles to getting information, or even maintaining a conversation,” Brittany wrote recently.

“Despite working from tips given by vendors, I couldn’t help but feel at most a reluctance, and at worst a hostility, to stories that could perpetuate stereotypes of drugs and homelessness from both home-less individuals and the advocates serving them,” she said.

It’s worth repeating that Street Sense editorial policy, laid out on page 2, is to reflect a multitude of perspectives on poverty. Street Sense does not exist to “sanitize and castrate” community issues, as Brittany eloquently says, or to project “a shiny, grateful and presentable image of homelessness.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself, so I’ll let Brittany complete her thoughts.

“As a news outlet, I believe Street Sense has an obligation to present the fullest, most complex view of issues as possible. This cannot happen in a framework that permits only one archetype of a homeless individual,” she writes. “Homelessness should not merely be unacceptable when it happens to the ideal archetype – to the single mom, to the repentant former playboy, to the elderly woman forced from a gentrified home.”

She continues: “I have spent hours at Franklin Square Park, I have talked to city officials, I have asked vendors. I have called shelters and surveyed service providers. I have pored over studies and crunched numbers ... I do believe that it is right to communicate what I view. For many, this investigation has hurt feelings, or seemed intrusive or to have served narrow sensationalistic interests. To that, I can empathize, but not apologize. I sincerely hope that others will step forward to add the complexities of their viewpoints to my own.”

We welcome your comments at editor@streetsense.org.

From the Chair of Board: The Quickening

2008-04-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

by Ted Henson

In my first column as chairman of the Street Sense
board of directors, I want to emphasize the importance
of visualizing where we want to be in context
of where we’ve come from.

I moved to Washington in August 2003 for two reasons:
to follow my future wife Rebecca and to start a street newspaper.
Those first few months in Washington were an epic
time. Initially, we were a ragtag all–volunteer project of the
National Coalition for the Homeless, with an operating
budget of zero and a desk in the corner of a room that was
shared by three people as its only office space.

Laura Thompson (before she was Osuri) came to the office
on a daily basis, with business plan in hand and mock–
ups of the paper. Her boundless energy and leadership are
what guided those early days. Michael Stoops, from NCH,
brought me to D.C. and has been a steady and loyal advisor
to the paper ever since.

Vendors such as August Mallory, Fred Anderson, Conrad
Cheek Jr., Phillip Howard, James Davis, Bobby Buggs, Alvin
Dixon, Francine Triplett, Allen Jones and Leonard Cannady
put feet to concrete and papers on the corners. Writers like
David Hammond, Diane Rusignola, Fiona Clem, Gaby Coppola
and Carolyn Cosmos produced dynamite news stories
that the Post would have been lucky to run. And the list
of volunteers who helped Street Sense survive and grow is
nearly endless.

In a conversation that I had today with longtime vendor
Martin Walker, he mentioned that if he had a place to live
in, or at the very least a reliable alternative to wandering the
streets at night or keeping an open eye at a shelter, he would
be able to dedicate more of his energy to lifting himself out
of his current, unstable situation.

Martin’s comments relating where he wants to be came
more than a week after Mayor Fenty and his director of
the Department of Human Services, Clarence Carter, announced
plans to create a Housing First fund and create 400
units of supportive housing for the chronically homeless in
Washington. As various sides argue over the validity of the
Housing First strategy, I know from talking to Martin that an
apartment would be a godsend for him right about now.

While the City Council decides whether or not to approve
the mayor’s budget and to try something new, I feel it’s important
to take bold steps every so often and it’s good to
defer to those willing to make those leaps.

Organizationally, it is my goal as board president to help
Street Sense formalize its operations and to make it more
agile and equipped to service our staff and vendors. That
means practical changes such as creating stronger HR policies,
expanding services offered to vendors, and dedicating
more effort to advertising and fundraising. I look forward
to working with our board to making these things happen.
I also look at the attributes of our staff and core of vendors
and feel a sense of confidence in Laura’s leadership, Koki’s
editorial finesse, Rita’s passion and Larie’s ambition.

It seems appropriate to conclude with words spoken by
Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated 40 years ago
this month. In his “Mountaintop” speech in Memphis, given
the night before he was killed, King asks himself how he
would answer if God were to ask him which period in time,
out of all the ages, he would want to live in. Here is King:

“Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say,
‘If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of
the twentieth century, I will be happy.’ Now that’s a strange
statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The
nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around.
That’s a strange statement.

“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough,
can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period
of the twentieth century in a away that men, in some
strange way, are responding –– something is happening in
our world.”

What Our Readers Want

2008-03-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

by Laura Thompson Osuri

After six weeks of vendors passing out yellow survey cards, our reader survey is complete.

From the look of it so far, with about 550 responses, Street Sense readers are evenly divided when it comes to age, income level and how long they have been reading the paper.

The only standout demographics are that we have more female readers (62%) than male, and – not surprisingly – the majority of our readers work for nonprofits (36%) or the government (27%).

Knowing the demographics our readers will be a huge help when it comes to selling advertising in the paper. Advertisers always want to know who they are going to be reaching and now we have up–to–date information on that. Surprisingly, however, little has changed since our first readers’ survey back in June 2006.

Our advertisers will also love to know that 80% of our customers are reading at least half the paper every time they buy it.

Aside from learning about reader demographics, the survey has helped us gain our readers’ input about the paper and its vendors. Nearly all customers buy the paper to support the vendors but about half of our customers also buy it to learn more about homeless issues.

It’s great to see that so many of D.C. area residents want to learn more about this often ignored topic. In the next year, we hope to do an even better job providing this information.

How we provide this information may very well change thanks to your feedback.
I was pleased to find out that the local news section is everyone’s favorite. Often times, I think that the news we are providing may be too depressing or repetitive and that readers may simply ignore it an turn to the moving poetry or amusing editorials.

But it seems people are interested in homelessness and poverty issues, no matter how many somber statistics and stories we report. As I suspected, the vendor profiles and poetry sections are also near the top of readers’ lists, with games and provider profiles falling at the bottom. Maybe it’s time to do away with the crossword and to run intriguing news – rather than fluffy profiles – on organizations helping the homeless.

The most surprising result, to me anyway, is that nearly half the readers think vendors should have “signs explaining the paper.” This is something a few vendors have tried on their own, but not something we have tried to institute organization–wide.

That may change, thanks to your suggestions. We also apparently need more vendors to pass out our brochures, and we can definitely get going on that right away.

Besides the suggestions on how our vendors can improve sales, I really appreciate all the written suggestions on how the organization can improve its outreach. The message from readers was clear: Street Sense needs to advertise.

Hopefully in the spring, you will be seeing public service announcements about Street Sense on and inside Metro buses, on the radio and on cable television.

Thanks to all those that responded to the reader survey. You can be assured your feedback will be put to good use! If you have any further suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@streetsense.org.

Intern Insight: Coffee Break

2008-01-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

By Brittany Aubin

Undoubtedly, some poor intern in this city is just now embarking on a semester–long affair with the office copy machine. For many young people, the allure of prestigious ID badges and K Street commutes almost eclipses the annoyance of days spent running coffee and crunching numbers.

It was partly an effort to avoid such a dreaded coupling that brought me to this position in Street Sense’s humble church office. For me, a senior majoring in international development and print journalism at American University, Street Sense seemed the perfect chance to combine news writing, social justice and empowerment.

While I have worked with homeless communities before, much of my knowledge comes from volunteerism, both in D.C. and as an exchange student in Chile. These opportunities were rewarding, but did little to address the deep–seated issues surrounding homelessness.

Seeing the advertisement for Street Sense online, I saw a chance to take my involvement one step further.

All of that brought me to this morning, my first day at Street Sense. Wedged between fellow commuters on the Metro bus, I fantasized of soon–to–come undercover features, intimate interviews and daring adventures as intrepid gumshoe reporter.

Only an hour in, I decided this job would be anything but predictable. Set up at my own little computer – complete with lime–green keyboard and mouse – I already had a list of tasks ahead of me. With stories to cover, photos to find and sources to track, a bit of mindless photocopying actually started to sound relaxing. Between e-mails and phone calls, I had a chance to meet some of the paper’s vendors, who drifted in and out of the office to buy more issues, attend meetings and just chat. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to welcome me to the team.

By noon, every stereotype I might have had about the homeless was gone and I was floored by the diversity of personality, race, gender and background that made up this little office. The roles of vendor, volunteer and friend seemed merged, with many vendors helping out and basically everyone knowing more about the paper’s operations than me. In fact, everyone seemed to know a little more about life than me. With conversations jumping from the origins of Valentine’s Day to what kind of root goes into root beer, I wondered how it was that anyone got any work done here at Street Sense.

But work I did. By the end of the day, I realized how different this internship would be from others I had in the past. Putting the finishing touches on the vendor survey charts for this issue, I knew that the numbers corresponded to the many new faces I had met today. Although quite used to sobering statistics, I couldn’t shake the fact that over half of our vendors were 51 or older. And even my math–challenged mind understood about 30% of vendors had been homeless for four years or more – about one–fifth of my 21–year–old life.

Making the abstract personal is an uncomfortable feeling. Returning with other tired commuters Friday evening, I may have appeared just another Red Line undergrad, dressed in freshly-bought business casual, departing at the Tenleytown stop. Returning to a comfy apartment with heat and well–stocked shelves.

And a newfound understanding of the inequalities of this city. It sure beats running coffee.

Brittany Aubin is a senior at American University and an intern with Street Sense through the spring.

Vendor Notes

2008-01-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

By Laura Thompson Osuri

Superstar Students

I’d like to give a special thanks to Kellie Marsh and Jenn Dunseith from the College of St. Rose in Albany, N.Y., who came and volunteered in our office during the second week in January.

Not only were they a huge help at doing last-minute tasks to get the Jan. 9 issue out, they were key in getting our office organize and updated for the new year. Kellie and Jenn updated the story archive lists, sorted the donors list for 2007, and organized our archive of past issues.

And for one afternoon they went out and sold papers with vendor Mark Jones all about town. And while they said it was a struggle to sell the first few issues, in the end they said they had a great time.

New Interns

And speaking of help from college students, I would like to welcome our interns for the winter/spring semester. We have Brittany Aubin, a senior at American University with a double major in international studies and print journalism; Jessica Elliott, a junior at Lafayette College who is in D.C. for the Washington Semester at American University; and Mary Pat Abraham, a high school senior at the Howard Gardner School.
Brittany is in Wednesdays and Fridays helping with the editorial work, Jessica helps out Mondays and Tuesdays on the vendor side of things, and Mary Pat is in on Fridays doing a little of both.

Lee in the Kitchen

After 16 long weeks in the D.C. Central Kitchen culinary arts training program, vendor Lee Mayse graduated Jan. 22. Just a few days before graduation, he accepted a job offer at D.C. Public Schools.
Lee will be cooking at a cafeteria at one of the schools, though he does not know which one yet. Lee said the job offer was a true blessing from God, and that he is thrilled to start working as soon as possible.

Big–spending Customers

Jeffery McNeil wanted to thank a well–dressed male customer near Metro Center who gave him a card the other day, which held a big surprise. “I couldn’t believe it!” Jeffery said. “I opened the card later and there was a $50 bill.”

And our newest vendor Frank Reddick wanted to thank two customers yesterday who separately gave him $100 bills.

Frank got these donations during his first day at Street Sense while he was selling near Dupont Circle. He came back the next day ecstatic and anxious to get his new badge. And by the end of the day he was vendor #168 and had already sold 40 papers.

Our Oldest Vendor

On Feb. 3, our oldest vendor Charlie Mayfield gets a little older, turning 74. We wanted to congratulate Charlie on reaching this milestone while still going strong selling papers. You can often find Charlie selling at Union Station. He does not look a day over 60!

TODAY: Your $10 Can Help Street Sense Win $10,000 From Facebook!

2008-01-10T06:15:00.000-08:00

Join the Street Sense Facebook One-Day Donation Challenge on Jan. 10, 2008!

If Street Sense gets the most donors in one day – which on average is 60 donors – we will win $1,000 from Facebook.

And if Street Sense is in the top 13 for most donors during the course of this challenge – which right now is only 120 donors for the 13th place – then we win $10,000.

All we ask is you donate just $10 on Jan. 10 to Street Sense and pass along this note to 10 different people.

Here's how to donate:
- Go to http://apps.facebook.com/causes/ and search for "Street Sense"
- Click on the donate link
- Enter the appropriate amount (it only has to be $10) and your info
- Click donate to complete

If you're not a Facebook member, all you have to do is join, which takes about 30 seconds to do, at www.facebook.com.

So remember: $10 on Jan. 10, and email 10 friends, to help Street Sense win $10,000.

Thank you for your support!

DIRECTOR'S NOTE: Too Much of a Good Thing

2007-11-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving over and Christmas close at hand, the holiday season is definitely upon us. Like every year, with the holidays comes what we around the Street Sense office like to call “homeless season.”

“Homeless season” is the time of the year when everybody suddenly seems to take notice of those less fortunate, notably homeless individuals. Newspapers run more stories about homelessness, particularly on children and families; volunteers flood organizations that serve the homeless hoping to get at least one day in making sandwiches or handing out hygiene supplies; and donations upon donations of clothing come pouring in to all human service nonprofits, regardless of if they can even accommodate such items.

The reason for this sudden recognition of homeless individuals is quite obvious: the holidays are a time of giving and sharing happiness, so people want to give to those who have the least. Also the holidays fall conveniently at the end of the year when the forthcoming tax exemptions from charitable donations are at the top of many people’s minds.

But while all this attention to the homeless population is encouraging, it’s simply far too much of a good thing. Our vendors report becoming overweight because of all the donated food during the holidays. Also during the holidays, I have seen many vendors just throw out sweaters and hats instead of cleaning them because of their abundance at this time. Soup kitchens also throw out and turn away more food than ever during this time. And other service providers say their volunteer rosters for the holiday season are booked months in advance.

All this giving, unfortunately, is also fleeting. Inevitably, at the end of January, when people pack up their holiday decorations for the next year, so, too, do they pack up their giving spirit. Donations of cash and goods suddenly dry up and the volunteer numbers dwindle. And the media coverage of the homeless strangely stops for another 10 months.

Unlike the Christmas lights and holly wreaths, homeless individuals cannot be packed up for next season; they are with us all year long. On any given night – even outside the holiday season – in the D.C. area there are about 12,000 homeless individuals, a little under half of whom are in the District alone.

So as you consider giving your time, goods or funds this holiday season, consider holding off on that gift until another time in the year. Contribute a little extra money in April when you get your tax refund; donate bottled water, t-shirts and fans in July when the hyperthermia season is at its peak; take an extra day of vacation during the summer and spend it serving the homeless. Or better yet, sustain your giving throughout the year. Volunteer to tutor a homeless child once a week, help teach a skills training course once a month, or during your bi-weekly grocery store trip, buy a little extra to donate to the food pantry.

And most nonprofits, including Street Sense, offer automatically recurring deductions when you donate online with a credit card.

Thanks to everyone for thinking of homeless individuals this holiday season. But please, please, keep them in your thoughts, prayers and donations more than just six weeks out of the year.

If you need more information on volunteer opportunities, look at the directory on page 15. You can also contact D.C. Cares for other volunteer opportunities at www.dc-cares.org.

If you would like to volunteer for Street Sense throughout the year, please email Koki Smith at editor@streetsense.org for more info. Or if you want to set up recurring donations to Street Sense please visit www.streetsense.org and click on “donate.”

DIRECTOR'S NOTE: Four Years of Changing Lives and Perceptions

2007-11-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

In concept, four years seems like a long block of time: it’s your high school years or college days or a presidential term. But the last 48 months have flown by.

It seems like only a few weeks ago that Street Sense co–founder Ted Henson and I were waiting outside the offices of the National Coalition for the Homeless in a cold drizzle with a couple of bundles of papers and a box of bagels, hoping that at least one vendor would come by during the first two hours of Street Sense’s first day in print.

Although the course of events over the last four years seems so compressed, the contrast between where Street Sense was on that drizzly day and where it is now is phenomenal.

Compared to that let–down of our first morning, consider the first day of our Nov. 1, 2007, issue.
Thirty–four different vendors came by to purchase nearly 2,000 papers. Eight vendors even showed up before I got there at 8 a.m.

It’s easy to note the numerical differences in Street Sense then and now, especially over the course of the last year.

In the last year, Street Sense has
• increased the number of papers sold per month by 69%, from approximately 13,000 to 22,000
• raised the average number of vendors each month by 33% to 60 and
• tripled its staff to three people.

Four years ago, we started with 5,000 issues a month, 10 vendors and no paid staff.

While the numerical measurements are important, they are not what truly matters here at Street Sense. The achievements that really matter are the changes in our vendors’ lives and the impact of our news stories.

What matters is that vendor Jeffery McNeil came to Street Sense this summer with empty pockets and hardly any hope, and today he is in a corporate mentoring program and his self-confidence is sky high.

What matters is that the attitude and work ethic at Street Sense inspired vendor Martin Walker to go into a treatment program late this summer to get clean and that he is now working in the trucking industry.

What matters is that through Street Sense, vendor Moyo Onibuje discovered his hidden writing talent. Through a story about him in our paper, he was able to connect to family in England with whom he had not spoken in eight years.

What also matters is that the Street Sense article, “Slow Progress on D.C.’s Homeless Plan,” which cited dozens of unanswered calls to D.C. government officials about what they were doing on the 10-year plan to end homelessness, came out one week before Mayor Adrian Fenty announced he was taking action to increase affordable housing and shelter space.

What matters is that the article “Libraries: The De Facto Day Shelter” prompted the D.C. library system to properly train its staff to deal with homeless patrons.

What also matters is that Street Sense was the first to report on the closing of D.C. Village, the city’s only emergency family shelter, and the first to put the mayor’s promise of apartment-style housing for all the families on record.

These are the real accomplishments of the past year. While numbers matter, these personal and political stories are much more telling.

Such great accomplishments on the service and editorial sides of the paper could not have been possible without the support of our loyal readers and donors, nor without the wonderful volunteers and vendors of Street Sense.

Although our staff has increased three–fold in the last year, we still truly rely on our close network of supporters and volunteers to keep us afloat.

Thanks to everyone for making the last year so successful in many ways. I hope that in the next year Street Sense expands its accomplishments and successes even more and continues to empower the homeless and change public perceptions for the better.

In Memoriam: David Pike

2007-11-21T13:34:00.000-08:00

David Pike, beloved Street Sense board member and volunteer, passed away suddenly on Nov. 5. I cannot express how much we at Street Sense will miss his insight, dedication, humor and positive attitude.

After David retired from a 40-year career in journalism covering the likes of the Supreme Court, he dedicated his time to the more humble matters of homelessness. He started helping out with Street Sense in early 2005 as a volunteer editor, and soon transitioned into volunteering at the office. At the beginning of last year, David joined the Street Sense board of directors.

David came to the office faithfully every Tuesday morning and was known in the office for his helpfulness, his meticulous editing, his Panama hat, his gently rasping voice and his vegetarian diet. David also had a very dry sense of humor. Whether it was a wry comment about August Mallory’s lack of punctuation or an imitation of Conrad Cheek Jr.’s sales pitch, David always knew when to chime in at the right moment.

As he helped out in the office for nearly three years, he got to know many vendors quite well, and had a vested interest in a handful of them.

For the past year, David would purposely arrive about 10 minutes early to his office shift so he could spend time talking to Charles Nelson, the vendor at Metro Center, before coming in. And when Charles was having medical problems, David searched online to find him the appropriate assistance.

As a board member, David will be remembered for his self-effacing manner, his insight and his true commitment to our mission.

I always appreciated that David would carefully read over all the meeting notes and come to meetings armed with questions.

At board meetings, David would often share his Street Sense office experiences and speak on behalf of vendors.

David was also responsible for editing most of our grant proposals and always added his two cents along with many corrections.

What I loved about David, though, was that anyone who talked to David for more than five minutes would inevitably find out about Street Sense.

David was truly passionate about Street Sense and he spread the word whenever he got the chance.

In fact, he was planning to marry his longtime partner Caroline Gabel at the end of November, and in place of wedding gifts, was asking friends and relatives to make a donation to Street Sense.

But David was more than just a board member, volunteer and advocate.

He was also a dear friend. During the summer, when Street Sense was going through a rough time with staffing issues, David was there with an ear to listen and wise words of advice.

We swapped stories about cats, joked about marriage, and got to know each other’s families.

David Pike left his mark on Street Sense and helped make the organization and the world a better place through his efforts.

--Laura Thompson Osuri

Street Sense mourns David Pike, friend and advocate

2007-11-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

David Pike, a beloved Street Sense volunteer and a member of the board of directors, died last night after a heart attack. David was a huge asset to Street Sense, not only as a board member but as a volunteer and general advocate for the paper over the last three years. I cannot even express how much his insight, humor, dedication and overall upbeat attitude will be missed.

We are still in shock at the Street Sense office. Please keep David's family, especially his fiancee Caroline, in your thoughts and prayers.

-- Laura Thompson Osuri

Arsonist Targets Miriam's Kitchen

2007-11-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

On Oct. 30, at around 3 a.m., an arsonist set fire to a large church room where Miriam’s Kitchen, a homeless services provider, serves meals to the homeless in northwest D.C. Police are investigating.

“Apparently, someone had broken into a window in our dining area...[used] some kind of accelerant like gasoline and lit it,” Scott Schenkelberg, executive director of Miriam’s Kitchen, said.

A sprinkler system in the building had put out most of the blaze by the time firefighters arrived.

"Fortunately, there was relatively minor damage,” Schenkelberg said. “[There was] fire damage and three inches of water from the sprinkler system.”

The kitchen opened its doors about 15 minutes late the next morning as a result of the fire.

“[We’ve] been able to adapt,” Schenkelberg said. Miriam’s Kitchen will try to repair damages outside normal hours of operation to minimize disruption to program guests, he said.

There are no suspects at this time. “Obviously, it’s somebody that needs help,” Schenkelberg said.

Miriam’s Kitchen’s services include breakfast, case management and social services for the chronically homeless.

By Desiree Perez

DIRECTOR'S NOTE: Setting the Course

2007-11-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

By Laura Thompson Osuri

From the start Street Sense has been a very grassroots organization, getting input from the homeless people we serve, making decisions on a consensus basis, and taking our successes and challenges one at a time. Consequently, besides a very rough business plan at the start and annual budgets in subsequent years, Street Sense has done very little long–term planning in its four–year existence.

But on Monday, Oct. 24, Street Sense entered the strange new world of strategic planning. For five hours in a very warm conference room, the board and staff of Street Sense tossed around their ideas for the future of our newspaper.

With the help of giant Post–Its, Sharpie markers, a flip chart, and several large and small group discussions, we determined our top goals for the organization.

The goals for 2008 and early 2009 include:

• Hiring an advertising sales manager and formalizing the ad sales program for vendors

• Forming partnerships with other providers to assist vendors in finding jobs, housing, treatment and other help

• Expanding the marketing of Street Sense through public service announcements and other advertising

• Developing the board of directors, including creating committees, adding members and improving transparency

• Expanding content to include suburban news and expanding the vendor network into the suburbs through partnerships with service providers in outlying areas

• Improving internal technology and developing the Web site to make it more interactive for readers and more beneficial to vendors

• Hiring a community development director and editorial assistant

While this planning process made me quite excited about the future, it also showed me there is a lot of work to be done to build a strong foundation for the organization. In the past four years, we have come a long way toward developing a structure for this foundation.

With a strong foundation hopefully in place by 2010, Street Sense will be prepared to creatively expand its outreach by providing vendors with micro–financing options and scholarships, encouraging local teachers to integrate our articles and poetry into their classrooms and holding regular community forums on issues related to poverty.

I am very much looking forward to the next few years of developing Street Sense and building it into an innovative organization that will go even further in accomplishing our mission of empowering the homeless and educating the public. And I definitely think we have the momentum and the commitment from the board, staff, vendors and volunteers to make all of our goals a reality.

So plan to be wowed by Street Sense in the next few years. If you have some ideas of your own for the organization, please share them. Though we might have crossed into the flip chart–world of corporate planning, we have definitely not forgotten our (grass)roots. As always, we seek –– and appreciate — input and feedback from all who are affected by Street Sense.

E–mail any ideas or comments you have on the Street Sense strategic plan to laura@streetsense.org.

Washington Post runs photo by Street Sense intern

2007-10-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

So our trusty intern reporter Melanie Lidman was out covering Mayor Fenty's announcement of the closing of DC Village, a family emergency shelter, yesterday. The Washington Post reporter next to her had forgotten her camera. So Melanie, generous soul that she is, agreed to have her photographs used by the Post for its own story.

The Post, however? Not so generous. There was no money in the budget to pay Melanie for the photo, she was told. So Melanie made the best call she could. As she put it, "Not getting paid for your freelance work: negative $50. Seeing your grandmother's face when she opens the newspaper: priceless :)."

Check out Melanie's photo for the story "District Closing 'Inhumane' D.C. Village" in the Metro section of today's Post. It's on page B2 of the District edition -- in full color and nearly six inches by six inches!

Watch for Melanie's own story on the DC Village closure, and her coverage of the Dalai Lama's visit to N Street Village, the women's shelter, in our Nov. 1 issue.

-- Koki Smith

Street Sense puts pdfs of past issues online!

2007-10-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Street Sense has a new and improved archives page!

Thanks to the HTML skills (and infinite patience) of our intern Desiree Perez, you can download entire past issues of Street Sense in PDF form on our Web site streetsense.org. Just click the archives link on our homepage, then choose the year, month and issue you want to read.

It's an easy way to get a little more Street Sense from the comfort of your own home.

P.S. Some pdfs from 2004 and 2005 are not online yet. We're working on it!

"Trendy" Skid Row

2007-10-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

By Desiree Perez

I was reading an article in the Washington Post the other morning. It caught my attention because it mentioned Skid Row in Los Angeles, and that’s close to where I live.

The article said Skid Row was becoming, well, trendy. L.A. is infamous for its trends and celebrity, but that’s near Hollywood, Beverly Hills or Rodeo Drive – not Skid Row.

What Skid Row is famous – or infamous – for is homelessness, poverty, drugs and crime. That neighborhood, contained by 3rd Street and 7th Street from north to south, and Main Street and Alameda Street from west to east, is tough.

And apparently, it’s exactly that edginess that’s drawing the new influx of trendsetters. Hipsters, art dealers and the rest of the pseudo–counterculture are migrating to the seedy streets of Skid Row in droves, searching for that sketchy bohemian lifestyle.

When I read this, I thought, "Sounds interesting. Maybe I’ll go check it out when I get home." But then a short paragraph caught my eye: it dealt with the displacement of the homeless population in Skid Row. That’s when my experience at Street Sense kicked in.

There are a lot of homeless people in Skid Row. Within its borders, there are roughly half a dozen homeless shelters and transitional housing buildings. Churches do outreach ministry, and even run clean needle distribution centers.

However, as more of the industrialized neighborhood is converted into warehouse lofts for the 20– to 30–somethings with a couple million dollars to burn, the homeless population will be forced to look for aid elsewhere.

What’s even more outrageous is the city’s assessment of the situation. They’ve upped the police force in Skid Row by 50 officers over the last year. The cops, though, seem to have more incentive to hassle the homeless than anything else.

The mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, is drawing attention to the opening of big chain supermarkets in the neighborhood rather than to the fact that more money is spent harassing a vulnerable population than helping them.

It would make a lot more sense to use the funds to expand housing and care programs for the homeless. Instead, that money is used to beef up the police force to kick the homeless out.

What’s more, Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton acknowledges the displacement, but brushes it off as a necessary – and minor – problem. "Is there some displacement? Certainly," Bratton said. "But what’s wrong with that in some respects? Why should one square mile of the city be impacted by something that’s effectively a countywide problem?" He continued, "So if there is displacement, all well and good."

Mayor Villaraigosa takes a more compassionate approach, stating that the Safer City Initiative will maintain affordable housing in the places where it is most needed. It’s clear, however, that the burgeoning city renaissance does not include taking care of homelessness. Rather, it sweeps it under the rug and out of Skid Row.

Before working at Street Sense, I would have probably overlooked the bigger picture. The development of Skid Row and the increased police force would have seemed like positive and welcome initiatives. Since becoming familiar with the people and the issues here, though, I’m able to see the real problems at stake.

Desiree Perez is from Corona, Calif., and is a fall intern with Street Sense through the Fund for American Studies.

August Mallory's letter from Oregon

2007-10-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

By August Mallory

I began this story in Eugene, Ore. After I arrived in town, I checked into the Best Western hotel before I went out on the town to talk to the area's local homeless community. As the day grew later, I focused on where I would make my first trip. I jotted down some notes and a few questions to ask the people I’d interview.

The next day, I went out into the city. As I left my hotel room, I happened to spot a homeless man near West 1st Avenue. I wanted to talk to him. I went inside a local corner store to buy two sodas and offered this gentleman one. He gladly accepted.

We struck up a pretty good conversation. He said his name was Luther and that he was from Alabama. I could certainly tell from that southern drawl. He told me he came to the west coast to see something different. He said that he had been homeless for eight years. A bad marriage and a lost job caused him to lose his home because he was unable keep up on the mortgage payments.

I told him I was stranded and asked about the local shelters. I didn't tell him I was with a street paper for fear of him running away. I really wanted to talk to him. Luther pointed me in the direction of the Eugene Mission, but it didn't open until 7 p.m. to take in new clients. So it was Luther and me all day. We went all over Eugene and Lane County.

Luther showed me all of the soup kitchens and other homeless hangouts. I actually had a very good time with Luther. He said he was about 60 years old. He has stayed at the Eugene Mission from time to time. While Luther and I were hanging out, I saw an all too familiar scene: the homeless carrying around sleeping bags and blanket rolls. Overall, however, the homeless situation didn't seem as bad as it was in D.C., Seattle, or Los Angeles. The numbers did not seem as high in Eugene.

As it grows later, Luther and I make our way back to the Mission. I decide to check in for dinner and have a nice evening meal, and what a meal it was. Even breakfast the next day was delicious. There was bacon, eggs, ham, milk, pastries, doughnuts, juices and all sorts of cereals and fruits. For a minute, I thought I was eating at Miriam’s Kitchen in D.C.

Then we were sent on our way to do what ever. I met up with Luther again and we hung out some more.

The weather was chilly, but not viciously cold. To get out of the elements, Luther and I went to the public library downtown to read newspapers and keep warm until the shelter opened up again. This is exactly what I used to do when I was living on the streets. The public library was the place to go when the weather got too cold.

We roamed around the library looking at books and reading papers from other cities for a while. Then we just sat and talked. Luther was very hurt by losing his wife and family. His wife left him and he had no idea where she went. He really poured his heart out.

As we talked we saw the local police roust homeless people for sitting in one place too long.

I wanted to make a call to Mayor Kitty Piercy's office. Harassment of the homeless is in every city and needs to stop.

I understand private property, but a city park bench should not be taken away just because a person is homeless. I see dividers on park benches to keep the homeless from sleeping on them, but the homeless will sleep on them anyway.

As I continue my story from Eugene the drama carries on. Tempers flare at the American Red Cross shelter—living in close quarters just isn’t for everybody.

Coming up next month: I attempt to talk to More Betterman from Eugene, Oregon. Please tune in on WOL-AM1450 the More Betterman Show.

August Mallory was the first vendor for Street Sense. He now lives in Seattle and is on the board of directors for Real Change, the Seattle street paper.

Street Sense launches new e-mail newsletter!

2007-09-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

We sent out our very first e-mail newsletter to more than 150 readers today! We're excited about this new service and we're eager to see it grow.

You may have noticed the nifty new box on our Web site that asks if you'd like to join our mailing list. Every two weeks, we'll send the top stories from the latest Street Sense issue right to your inbox. We won't spam you, honest. In fact, our e-mail service makes us promise up and down and sideways that every person on our mailing list is absolutely, positively sure he or she wants to receive our newsletters. You can always unsubscribe if you don't like what you read.

So, c'mon. Sign up. Get Street Sense in your inbox. And if you like what you read, buy a paper from your favorite vendor. Your dollar will help a homeless person earn an income with dignity.

-- Koki Smith

New Vendor Profiles Page!

2007-09-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

After days of swimming through html code, our fabulous intern Desiree Perez has updated the Our Vendors profile page!

Click here to check up on your favorite vendors, see who has joined our ranks, and get to know the stories behind the faces of Street Sense.

Street Sense arrives on Facebook

2007-09-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Street Sense is on Facebook! Join our Facebook group, chime in on our discussion forum, post pictures and write on our wall!

We've also created a Causes application on Facebook. Add our button to your profile to help support our paper and raise online donations.

Ivory Leaves an Impression

2007-09-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

Since we started tracking our Web site traffic about a month ago, one pattern has stayed consistent: more people search the Internet for Ivory Wilson, a Street Sense vendor who frequently contributes short fiction to the paper, than for any other vendor. One such search originated in Tokyo. Who knew Ivory had a fan in Japan?

Ivory usually sells papers at the corner of 7th and E streets, NW, and recently published a poem about his regular customers. One of them, a local writer, recently blogged about her impressions of Ivory and her struggle to reconcile their friendship with his past as a pimp. Read her post here.

Read Ivory's latest short story, about a merciless genie in a lamp, here.

And click here to read more about Ivory's colorful past.

Welcome to our new interns!

2007-08-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

We are delighted to welcome three new interns for the fall! They'll start their internships after Labor Day, although all three have already come by the office to help out!

Melanie Lidman, a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, is fluent in Spanish and Hebrew and writes for the Hyattsville Life & Times and for her school paper, The Diamondback. Melanie was a big help for our Aug. 15 issue, coming by to help Street Sense vendor and photographer Cliff Carle download his photographs and write his captions.

Desiree Perez joins us from Riverside Community College in California through the internship program at Georgetown University’s Institute on Political Journalism. She’s the co–founder of an independent music and art magazine in Corona, Calif., and the opinions editor of her school paper. She arrived from California last night. Today, while visiting the Street Sense office with her dad, Desiree jumped in to help. She photographed Street Sense vendor Patty Smith with actress Charlayne Woodard, who plays Katherine in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of The Taming of the Shrew, for our Sept. 15 issue.

Matt Johnson, a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, writes for the Greenbelt News Review and The Black Explosion and spent last summer coordinating a team of 20 editors for the Washington Spark. Matt also participated in a journalism program last summer in Hong Kong. Matt's been volunteering as a writer for Street Sense for a while. You can find his story on a clean-up effort at Franklin School Shelter in our Aug. 31 issue. Matt came in earlier this week to work on his story.

Our talented, intrepid interns will put in between 15 and 30 hours a week at Street Sense, covering news around town, writing, editing and proofreading stories, helping design the newspaper and updating our Web site and this blog. Please wish them a warm welcome and a fulfilling experience on our team! We're delighted at their enthusiasm and energy and expect great things this fall.

– Koki Smith

Bedbugs Don't Just Bite the Homeless

2007-08-23T09:11:00.001-07:00

Bedbugs are democratic little creatures. An NPR story today makes clear that they could happen to you, not just to people who stay at homeless shelters.

You may have read Lance Cheslock's editorial and a vendor's accompanying testimonial in our current issue about being bitten by bedbugs at Franklin School Shelter. And you may have read in our July 15 issue how the residents at the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA complained of bedbugs in their rooms and managed to get city inspectors out to the property.

But in all fairness, bedbugs can be anywhere. According to this NPR story, they're making a comeback, hitching rides on suitcases or used furniture or nestling down into your mattress.

Exterminator Richard Kramer tells NPR he found one of the first new infestations in a Washington, D.C. hotel in 1998. "And ever since then, it's been exponentially increasing — that's the only way to describe it," Karmer said.

There is some good news: "Bedbugs aren't venomous, they don't spread dangerous disease, and they aren't linked to filth or moral decay," the story says. But Kramer agrees they're "creepy." "'They live in your bed,' he says. 'I mean, having your wife in your bed, your husband in your bed — but having your bedbug in your bed?'"

NPR's Jamie Rosen talked to Dini Miller, a pest management specialist at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., to get recommendations on how to keep bedbugs out. Random fact: apparently you can kill the bugs by freezing them for a week. Read her advice here.

(This post has been edited and originally quoted more extensively from the NPR story.)

New 14th Street Blog Gives Street Sense a Thumbs-Up

2007-08-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

Check out this 14th Street blogger who picked up a copy of Street Sense thinking it was "a load of bunk" and who wound up recommending that Metro commuters read it as an alternative to Express. Here's what he or she had to say:

"Out of curiosity, I picked up a copy of Street Sense this week. Until now I'd been walking by vendors near Whole Foods and the Dupont Metro almost daily. I'm happy to share that it appears to be a legitimate paper backed by a great pro-homeless organization. (Admittedly, I had originally expected to deride the publication as a load of bunk, and my motivation for purchasing Street Sense was mostly to provide fodder for this blog.)

"What's very cool about Street Sense is that 75 cents on the dollar goes to the person selling it. All of the vendors are indeed homeless who work as independent contractors, and some also serve as contributing writers. I was very pleased to learn that this paper has provided a more dignified alternative to panhandling as a source of income for those on the streets.

"The organization itself is an above-board 501 (c)3. (I haven't conducted any serious investigative journalism, but I have confirmed that they are listed by the IRS as a non-profit.) Page two of the paper gives a full disclosure of their donors, vendor code of conduct, board members, contact information, mission, and editorial policy. Better still, the inside back page is used for a "Community Service Index" of shelters, food banks, and other services for the homeless.

"The content mostly relates to issues of concern for the homeless and low-income communities such as the location for the new Central Union Mission and Fenty's poverty agenda. For those who are not personally involved in issues of social justice or homeless advocacy, it could be a little overwhelming to regularly read the biweekly paper. But perhaps it could be an occasional alternative to passing time on the Metro with the Express."

Considering the Express comes out every day and we come out every two weeks, serving as "an occasional alternative to the Express" works for us. It sure beats being mistaken for "a load of bunk" any day.

We'll get more such conversions as more people become aware of our unique publication. We're at nearly 11,000 readers per issue and counting. Please spread the word!

-- Koki Smith

Street Sense 2.0

2007-08-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Our reader survey last year revealed rather troubling news: that out of 813 readers who answered the question, 54% didn’t know we had a Web site.

We’ve taken some steps to remedy this, although we have a long way to go. We’ve updated the organizational information on the site, www.streetsense.org, and reactivated our blog, where we’ll be posting fresh content, including videos, anecdotes and newsy tidbits, about three times a week. Check it out at www.streetsenseoffice.blogspot.com or visit www.streetsense.org and click on the nifty little application that streams our blog entries straight to the main page. It’s called a blidget in geekspeak, I believe.

We’ve also begun to track our site traffic for the first time, so that we can better monitor the popularity of individual pages and better understand our online readership. So if you visit, we’ll be watching you.

We’ve also taken some first steps toward improving our online outreach. We’ve beefed up our Wikipedia entry, so that readers of the online encyclopedia will leave better informed. And we’re exploring ways to use social networking sites like Facebook to market our events and products, like our annual reception and silent auction on Sept. 27. And soon, we’ll be offering readers the ability to sign up for paper subscriptions online.

I’ll be the first to admit we could be using our site, www.streetsense.org, a lot more to develop vendors’ voices, tell stories in multimedia, encourage reader interactivity, build a subscriber base and provide a comprehensive newspaper archive. We hope to completely revamp it to do all these things. But we need your help.

We need feedback on how we can make www.streetsense.org easier to use and navigate, and how to make its content meaningful to regular readers of the paper. We’d eventually like to redesign it and move to a content management system that would allow users with no HTML skills to make updates.

Until then, I and volunteer Jake Geissinger will continue to update the site by coding each page by hand – and continue to curse the bug in our server that lets us upload an updated page only once every 24 hours. Sometimes, as a result, we have to live with mistakes or broken links on the site for an entire day because of this bug. It’s not an ideal situation here at www.streetsense.org.

If you were counting, you’d see I used our Web site address no less than five times in this little space. It’s a catchy little url. Please visit it and tell us how we can do better.

We welcome your e-mails at editor@streetsense.org.

-- Koki Smith

Street Sense intern wins award from Institute on Political Journalism

2007-08-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Our fabulous summer intern Daniel Johnson has won the Institute on Political Journalism’s John Chamberlain award for excellence in print journalism, an annual honor given to a newspaper intern who has excelled in his or her internship and has demonstrated the greatest commitment to reporting and writing over the summer.

“Daniel was awarded this honor because of his dedication to the Street Sense newspaper. Arriving a week before the program even began to start his internship, Daniel saw his internship not as just a job but as a service to the homeless of the D.C. area,” Jessica Taylor, a program assistant with the Institute on Political Journalism, explained. “Daniel showed a true passion for print journalism, but more importantly [he] demonstrated how important it was to tell the stories of those the mainstream media often overlooks.”

Daniel, who often described his experiences with the homeless community to his classes, was chosen out of 65 print interns in the program. The program is sponsored by the Fund for American Studies and Georgetown University.

Daniel is only the second intern the Institute on Political Journalism has assigned to Street Sense, so our 2-to-1 award rate ain’t too shabby!

But seriously, we here at Street Sense are very proud of Daniel and know he will go far as a journalist. We wish him the best as he returns for his junior year at Abilene Christian University.

-- LAURA

Vendor James Davis joins Street Sense board of directors

2007-08-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Street Sense board of directors voted yesterday to add vendor James Davis as its tenth member. James becomes one of two vendors on the board. Francine Triplett is the other.

James, who has served on the board before, said he's excited about being back. He said, grinning, "Let's get this paper moving!" See Tuesday's blog post for Leslie Couch's video on James' life or just click here.

The board of directors will hold a strategic planning retreat in October. Ideas and suggestions for Street Sense's long-term growth are welcome. Please e-mail us at editor@streetsense.org or info@streetsense.org.

Other Street Sense board members are:

Robert Egger, president
Ted Henson, co-founder of Street Sense
Barbara Kagan
David Pike
John Snellgrove
Michael Stoops
David Walker
Kathy Whelpley

-- Koki Smith

James and the Travel Channel

2007-08-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Watch this video on vendor James Davis created by Leslie Couch, a graduate of the Travel Channel Academy. It could be selected to air on the Travel Channel! We'll keep you posted.

A night of street poetry in the park

2007-08-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

We at Street Sense were privileged to be part of an event on urban poverty sponsored by the National Community Church at the Senate Park near Union Station last night. Poets Don Gardner, James Davis and David Harris of Street Sense read their work as part of the poetry program for Urban Poverty Night during the church's Week of Social Justice. All of the selections read can be found in our publication "Street Verses: Poems by the Homeless Writers and Vendors of Street Sense."

I was given the distinct privilege and honor to read the poem, “What I Want For Christmas,” by David Harris. We were treated to a stirring performance by Don Gardner of his poem, “The Streets” which aroused the emotions of the audience. Poet James Davis gave a memorable rendition of his creation titled “Skyward” and the magnificent David Harris chose his poem “Kindness” to recite. His poems must be experienced by the individual reader in order to feel the full force of his creations. The man is talented beyond words.

The event was intended to make people think about what they could do to give service to the disadvantaged and poverty-stricken persons in our community, and how we could create awareness of those conditions among the general public.

Look for other events sponsored by the National Community Church. I do believe that they are beneficial to this and many other communities.

-- Jesse Smith

Last minute poetry reading today!

2007-08-09T14:31:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 9, 7 p.m., Senate Park, near Union Station.

Street Sense is participating in the Week of Social Justice sponsored by National Community Church and other local churches. For Urban Poverty night on August 9, we will have vendors -- including the elusive David Harris -- read poetry from our book Street Verses at Senate Park, located at North Capitol Street between D Street and Constitution Avenue, just a block south of Union Station.

So if you live near by and/or are looking for something to do on Thursday night, please stop by to hear some great poetry and also learn more about urban poverty in D.C.

Street Papers of the World, Unite!

2007-08-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Executive Director Laura Thompson Osuri and Editor Koki Smith lugged dozens of copies of Street Sense to Portland, Ore., the last weekend in July for a conference of street papers across North America.

Sponsored by Street Roots, Portland’s street paper, and the Society of Professional Journalists, the conference helped more than 40 writers, editors and volunteers from 19 papers across the U.S. and Canada share ideas and best practices for improving fundraising, editorial content and organizational planning.

The papers spanned a wide spectrum: from Real Change, the Seattle-based weekly paper which sells nearly 50,000 copies every month, to Street Corner, a 1,000-circulation monthly paper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, to the Denver Voice, a new paper to launch in Colorado in August.

All share the goal of promoting public awareness of poverty and homelessness while providing opportunities for homeless vendors to earn an income. But most employ widely differing formats, printing quality and editorial philosophies, as Koki learned much to her fascination.
Our very own Laura, who serves as the association’s president, was re-elected to the board for another two years at the conference.

The 28 papers of the North American Street Newspaper Association reach nearly 300,000 people each month. The association recently partnered with the International Network of Street Papers, based in Glasgow, Scotland, to share resources and content. The resulting Street News Service, a compilation of stories from street papers across the world, reaches nearly 32 million people each month. Street Sense is a frequent contributor to the service.

The next North American street paper conference is scheduled for 2009 so that members can attend the international conference, to be held in either Australia or Scotland, next year.

--Koki Smith

Goodbye, Daniel, the Superstar Intern

2007-08-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

Daniel Johnson, an intern with Street Sense since mid-May, will leave us today. Everyone at Street Sense is sad to see him go. Daniel has been a vital asset to Street Sense and is one of the main reasons I was able to keep my sanity during the transition between our old editor suddenly leaving and the new editor Koki Smith joining a month later.

Since that transition time, he has continued to shine, writing a half-dozen quality stories, attending several last-minute press conferences and helping lay out half the issue for the past five issues. And during his last week, he plans to create several new videos for a Street Sense YouTube site he created.

Daniel will be sorely missed here at Street Sense, but with two new interns starting in the fall, hopefully we can fill at least part of his shoes. We wish him all the best when he goes back to Abilene Christian University and want him to know he will not be forgotten.

-- LAURA

Intern Insight: More Than a Summer Job

2007-08-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

For two months, my workdays began with the stoic Street Sense vendor Charles Nelson as I rose from the D.C. Metro Center Station escalator.

With half-opened eyes and a folded Street Sense newspaper in his right hand, Charles stood silently at the 13th Street exit while daily hordes of downtown workers walked past him.

He doesn’t say much and is easy to miss, but every morning Charles is there with a handful of papers, a Street Sense badge and a tired face.

Had it not been for my internship at Street Sense this summer, I probably would not have noticed Charles. I would have walked by with the crowd, never knowing what Street Sense was or who was behind the small newspaper. And I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to witness the power this small newspaper has to turn a broken man or woman on the streets into someone with hope.

While other students in my internship program, Georgetown University’s Institute on Political Journalism, may be able to brag about covering Capitol Hill, interviewing politicians and landing front page bylines, I can tell my friends back home about the homeless men and women like Charles I met and will never forget.

At Street Sense, I interviewed panhandlers, hounded the mayor’s office with questions about the 10-year plan to end homelessness and covered presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) speech on how he planned to battle urban poverty.

But the biggest achievement I have made this summer is learning that homelessness is a real problem in this country. Thanks to the readers, writers and producers of Street Sense, it is a problem that is no longer overlooked by the media.

Every stereotype I ever had about homeless people, homelessness and poverty was thrown out the window after my work at Street Sense. And although the past two months sped by, a part of me feels like I’ll always belong at Street Sense.

I cannot thank Executive Director Laura Thompson Osuri and Editor Koki Smith enough for having faith in me and giving me the opportunity to use my skills to help Street Sense.

I will miss our small office. When I come back to visit, I hope I’ll be greeted by an old friend at the top of the Metro Center exit, selling the latest edition of Street Sense.

Thanks for the great summer, Street Sense.

-- Daniel Johnson

Readers Reporting Illegal Vendors

2007-08-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to thank readers for e-mailing and calling to report people who are selling Street Sense without badges or who are selling old issues of the paper. We have gotten three reports in the past few weeks, and, unfortunately, most of these reports are of people who are not vendors but who somehow got hold of old issues and tried to sell them for a quick buck.

So this is just a reminder to NEVER buy a paper from a vendor without a Street Sense badge. Please also make sure to check the date of the paper you buy.

If a badged vendor does sell you an old issue, or you see a person selling Street Sense without a badge, please report them to us immediately at info@streetsense.org or (202) 347-2006.

-- LAURA

Conrad in the News

2007-08-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Conrad Cheek Jr., one of the top Street Sense vendors and a fixture at Eastern Market, was featured in The Hill newspaper on Wednesday, July 25. The article highlighted his unique sales pitch and said he "hawks Street Sense newspapers on Pennsylvania Avenue sidewalks with unrivaled fervor." And while the article speaks quite favorably of Conrad, it does point out one little-known flaw: he barely ever reads Street Sense.

You can read the article here(scroll down past the first story).

D.C. Street Soccer Hits the Turf

2007-08-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Back in mid-April, Street Sense helped organize and sponsor a homeless street soccer team for Washington. Street Soccer is played on a walled field the size of a tennis court with small goals and four players to a side.

After three months of solid practice, four of the five regular members of the team put their skills to the test during a mini-tournament in Charlotte, N.C., at the end of July. Though the competition was stiff, goalie Maurice King (of the Maurice Speaks column) and field players Michael Knight, Eric Olander and Larry Hudson put on a great show. They also really improved their skills over the course of three days.

The D.C. team even got to kick the ball around with the U.S. National Street Soccer Team in Charlotte and on the National Mall in D.C. a week earlier. They also scrimmaged with the coaches and organizers from D.C., including myself, Phillip Ruzycki, Megan Hustings, Aaron Hannah and Brad Terry.

The U.S. national street soccer team is now headed to Copenhagen, Denmark, for the Homeless World Cup, where they hope to do much better than their 46th out of 48 ranking last year. For more information on the Homeless World Cup, visit www.homelessworldcup.org.

The D.C. team plans to continue practice throughout the winter and is looking for an indoor league to join and/or an indoor space to practice. If you have space or a league to recommend, or if you are interested in joining the team and are homeless or formerly homeless, please contact Laura at 202-347-2006 or laura@streetsense.org.

And look for the Homeless USA Cup to come to D.C. in May 2008, sponsored by Street Sense and the National Coalition for the Homeless!

-- LAURA

Jake, Ivory and Goodbye to Rita

2007-07-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

Job for Jake

Congratulations are in order for Jake Ashford, a veteran vendor of Street Sense, who has landed a job at Insight Global in Chantilly, Va. After a long and trying search, he will finally be starting full-time employment. He will be helping out with warehouse shipping and receiving. He is excited to finally get into a work routine, and would like to thank all his customers for supporting him over the years. Even though he will be working 40 hours, he still plans on selling Street Sense at his favorite spot at Whole Foods on P Street.

Ivory the Writer

Ivory Wilson, a Street Sense vendor of six months, has caught the writing bug and is now writing about three stories a week for Street Sense. The first of his many stories, the coming-of-age short story "Black and White," ran in the last issue and this current issue includes the exciting thriller "Don’t Answer the Phone." Others in the works include "Black Cowboy," "The Fat Rat Under Union Station," and "Stacy from Malibu." He has also recently written several poems including an ode to his customers at 7 and E streets, NW.

Street Sense is publishing a piece of Ivory’s fiction each issue, but he is well ahead of the game already. After self-publishing his first full-length book, "A Player’s World," he is looking for a person or company to help publish his short stories in a compilation or someone to help him flesh out one of the stories into a full-length book.

The Heat is On

With the terribly hot weather in the past few weeks, please be mindful of the vendors that have to be out in the heat in order to earn an income. They do their best to find a shady spot and dress in lightweight clothes, but anything you as customers could do to help them stay cool would be much appreciated. The occasional bottle of water or cold drink is always welcome, as are a simple hand fan or sweat towel.

Goodbye Rita

And all of us here at Street Sense would like to thank Rita Monjardino, an office volunteer at Street Sense for the last eight months, and wish her the best of luck as she heads back to her home in London. Not only was she a top-notch office volunteer on the dreaded Monday morning shift, but she was also the voice of vendor Martin Walker’s girlfriend on the first few episodes of StreetSense TV.

As she cannot continue to lend her voice to StreeSense TV once back in London, Martin conveniently dumps Rita for another woman in episode four. But we here at Street Sense will never dump Rita and will always welcome her back!

--- LAURA

Editor's Note: Celebrating Multitudes

2007-07-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

The streets were deserted outside Union Station when I pulled up in a cab at 3 a.m. on a Thursday. Inside, an Amtrak waiting lounge was crowded with travelers slumped in place or lying across several seats in unapologetic sleep. My train to New York didn’t leave for another hour, but there were no empty seats here. I rolled my little bag to the next lounge, my eyelids itching from too little sleep in a long week of deadlines.

Less than 40 feet away, another lounge looked emptier and somehow different. There were far fewer travelers but they were all in a deep, stretched-out sleep. They had surprisingly little luggage, if you could call their few plastic bags luggage. Where were these people going with their beat-up looking CVS bags?

I hesitated. An unwashed smell drifted by.

They weren’t catching a train. They were homeless. They were catching up on their sleep under these fluorescent lights, using their hands or a balled-up shirt for a pillow.

Less than a month ago, I would probably have sat somewhere else. This Thursday, two weeks after I took over as editor of Street Sense, I mentally shrugged and settled into a stretch of empty seats, taking care to avoid the source of the smell.

It made me think of “Gotta Go,” the pilot episode of Street Sense TV, a 13-part series put together by a homeless crew that’s due to air on District cable this fall. “Gotta Go” illustrates a devastatingly simple problem: where do you go to the bathroom if you’re homeless? And how do you avoid smelling bad if you don’t have a regular place to wash and change your clothes?

Less than a month ago, I would not have looked as deeply at the people stretched out around me and wondered about their daily rituals of survival. I’ve never been homeless. But since joining Street Sense, I’ve been doing some serious learning.

Some of the learning has been professional, like taking an intensive weekend class in New York City to learn our page-layout program, or attending workshops on affordable housing at a homelessness conference on Capitol Hill.

But much of the learning has been based on personal interactions with the vendors and volunteers who frequent our little office in the Church of the Epiphany every day.

So far, I’ve found Street Sense to be a unique little animal, more challenging and multitudinous than any place I’ve worked in my 12 years in journalism. I’ve learned creative ways to survive when our computer network crashes and we have no technical help available in the face of a looming printer deadline.

I’ve re-learned that powerful storytelling and beautifully fragile poetry can come from unexpected sources. I’ve understood that despite their best intentions, sometimes people will break promises and let each other down. But I’ve also seen them try to rise again.

I think of Walt Whitman when I think of Street Sense.

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you…

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then, I contradict myself.
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

-- Koki Smith

Vendor Notes

2007-07-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

Congratulations!

Vendors Herman Lee Mayse and James Davis have recently become employed with established organizations. Lee Mayse secured a position as an assistant in the Food and Nutrition Services Department with the George Washington University Hospital. This is a part-time position with benefits. Lee says the position is perfect as his medical condition does not allow him to work 40 hours per week. He said it allows him to pace himself and to concentrate on improving his health. His appearance is certainly a testimony to that fact. He says he will still sell Street Sense when time is available. That idea is right in line with our Vendor Code of Conduct.

Another vendor, James Davis, is now working for Ritz Camera. James recently returned to the Street Sense family approximately two months ago and has used his connections to attract the manager of the store to offer him a position. He also intends to sell the paper when he is not working at the store.

These two gentlemen set an example we hope many other vendors will follow. Congratulations, guys, we are very proud of you.

Blessings Abound

Vendor Muriel Dixon took the initiative to pursue the Goodwill Training program to get a better job. She got it. She pressed forward to get a better place. She got it. And she prayed to get a car. You guessed it, she has it. Someone who will remain nameless for this issue took note of all the hard work and life changes Muriel had made and presented her with a car with one condition, and that was that she get new tires and tags. The last time I spoke to Muriel she was on her way to the DMV. I don't know about you, but I am going to double up on my prayers.

Poetry Launch

Street Sense held a book launch on June 24 for its poetry book, “Street Verses,” at the coffeehouse Busboys and Poets. We had a grand time. Brenda Karyl Lee-Wilson, James Davis, Conrad Cheek Jr. and I had the opportunity to present some of the poems in the book. I recited two creations authored by David Harris. They were “What I want for Christmas” and “Pride.”

The best presentation in my estimation was by Conrad Cheek Jr. for his poem “The Upper Echelon of the Homeless.” This poem not only had to be heard but the visual experience was something to behold. His use of the term “Street Sense” drove home the enormous talent that this man possesses. In addition to the poetry, clips from the first episode of Street Sense TV were presented by our own star-in-residence, Martin Walker. I can say that they are extremely well-done. Watch out Sundance Film Festival, Street Sense T.V. is on the horizon.

Welcome

We are truly fortunate to have a wonderful replacement editor for Charles Jackson. Her name is Kaukab Smith, nicknamed Koki. She has a pleasing personality and will make a great fit with Street Sense. Again welcome, Kaukab, we hope your stay will be a long and pleasant one.

-- Jesse Smith

Director's Desk: Stepping Up

2007-07-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

As some of you might have noticed – based on our changed masthead on page 2 and the lack of an editors column in last issue – the first full-time editor at Street Sense, Charles Jackson left after a brief two months. And as his exit was with about two hours warning, we obviously had no replacement lined up, and were, thus, operating without a full-time editor for the last month.

Consequently, the past few weeks have been rather crazy around the Street Sense office and inside my head as well. (Last month was also marred by one of our formerly homeless volunteers using the Street Sense credit card to steal $3,000 of computer merchandise, but that's another story all together.) But thanks to the help of all our wonderful volunteers and the outstanding Street Sense board of directors, we were able to get through it all, with me still have (most of) my sanity in place.

Despite the nuttiness, I think Charles departure is for the better, and the timing – in retrospect – could not have been more perfect. On Friday June 23, we hired a new editor, Kaukab “Koki” Smith, who has some wonderful ideas and great energy and thankfully could start right away.

And on Sunday June 24, we had a thank you reception for our volunteers and top donors. The event also was to promote our new poetry book “Street Verses” and including some powerful readings from vendors. While the reception was in honor the support over the last year, it really was appropriate to close out the last month when every volunteer and board member really stepped up in all ways.

The Monday after Charles left, I sent an email around to all the volunteers, letting them know, and I got 22 responses from volunteers offering to help out in anyway from rewriting stories to helping to organize the office. Below is just one of them that illustrates our volunteers' dedication:

So sorry to hear the news! That's pretty unbelievable. Hang in there!
I'm at a crunch time with work, but let me know if I can help and I'll try to get it done.
Cheers, Jo

In fact, in my email, I mentioned that we needed a last book review done, and five different people offered to review it, including one who already read the book.

Also, Street Sense could not have come out successfully these past two issues without the help of our fabulous summer intern Daniel Johnson. Thankfully he started helping out at Street Sense two weeks before his internship began. This was critical as he got to meet Charles and see what we are about before being thrown into writing a last minute article, laying out half the paper, and making all final editing changes to the paper.

I could personally have not made it through this last month without the support of the dedicated Street Sense board of directors. They offered up their support and shared stories of other their experience with employing jumping ship last minute. I appreciated comments like “I would work for you and wouldn't mind you being my boss,” and “It clearly wasn't meant to be and perhaps the absolutely most perfect person is now waiting in the wings.”

Boardmemer and co-founder Ted Henson was a lifesaver, helping with coordinating the editing process for the June 15 issue. Boardmember John Snellgrove really stepped up to help logistically pull off the thank you reception and poetry event. And all the board member really came through in force with the financial support for the thank you reception and future operations.

And obviously I would be remiss not to mention the help and encouragementfrom vendor manager Jesse Smith. Though this last month included a few rough days with him as well, we have pulled through it all and the organization and Jesse are looking to be much better off for it.
With this large network of support, Street Sense has made it through a rough month and is finally on the up and up. And I am finally looking forward to see what the next few week will hold.

As our board president Robert Egger told me when everything seemed bleak for Street Sense a few weeks ago: “It'll be a rough climb, but if we work together we can climb out of this ditch and build and even stronger Street Sense.”

And, indeed, with our dedicated volunteers, staff and board, a stronger Street Sense is where we are at. -- LAURA

Vendor Notes

2007-06-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Donations

We acknowledge the American Bar Association, especially Eric Modavan, for generously donating canvas brief cases and carrying bags, which will be distributed to our vendors. This donation will be very valuable in reducing the replacement of damaged papers due to the ever-changing weather conditions. Thank you very much.

Warning Vendors and Customers

Please notify us of anyone you may suspect anyone who is not a certified Street Sense vendor. There have been a number of cases reported persons selling our newspaper acting in a manner contrary to the attitudes of our vendors or the training they’ve received. These bogus vendors have been reportedly selling back issues as current. We ask the customer to examine the date on the paper before you make the purchase. The dates would indicate either the first or the 15th of the current month. Legitimate vendors can be easily identified by the photo badge or the bright yellow Street Sense vest. If in doubt, please do not purchase papers from that person. Call the Street Sense office at (202) 347-2006 if you have any concerns.

Street Sense TV

I am happy to say that the Street Sense TV project is alive and well. I had the privilege of viewing some of the skits of the first episode. They are quite interesting. The most satisfying aspect is the professionalism of the participants who are all homeless. What I viewed was in its raw stages, and if that is any indication of what is to come, we certainly have a winner.

Good Luck

Vendor Chris Sellman who has been with us for nine months, has decided to return to Minnesota. He has been a valuable member of the Street Sense team both as a vendor and our resident computer geek. We use this term in an affectionate manner because he has an uncanny knack to solve many of our system problems without any formal training. This can be considered another blow to the stereotype of homeless people lacking skills, formal or otherwise. In addition to being an active vendor, Chris served as a member of the National Coalition for the Homeless Speakers Bureau. He was the treasurer for Until You are Home Inc., and just a very nice guy. Chris, we wish you all the best and hope you do well. Good luck!

Attention All Vendors

Please register your birthday with staff at the Street Sense office. We’d like to recognize the occasion as well as issue you 20 free papers in your honor. Any vendor needing a canvas bag to carry papers should check with Laura, Charles or Jesse.

All Vendors, All The Time

2007-01-22T15:20:00.000-08:00

So if you have picked up the most recent edition of Street Sense, you will notice it is our first "All Vendor Issue," meaning everything is written by vendors and other homeless and formerly homeless individuals. Its a huge accomplishment for many of our vendors to be published in our newspaper and we encourage their pieces and welcome them. It was actually the overwhelming interest in writing from vendors that spurred the "All Vendor Issue."

Thanks to the help of many volunteers around the office, including David Hammond, we at Street Sense strongly encourage the vendors to put their thoughts to paper. When they start ranting about conditions in the shelter or treatment they get in the public because they are homeless or a kind gesture a customer offered, we respond with, "You should really write about that for the next issue." And many of the vendors usually take us up on this offer.

For this issue I hand a thick folder filled with legal pad paper and white printer paper, all covered with hand written articles and editorials from vendors. A few were turned in via e-mail, but the majority of vendors still prefer the old fashion way of writing.

And the thought and effort that went into these pieces was amazing. Brenda Lee-Wilson spend a whole day composing her piece about the inaugural events for the mayor, checking the dictionary often for spelling and synonyms and occasionally asking to anyone in the office that was there for a better way to say certain phrase. And while Cliff Carle dictated his thank you piece to me and read it over after I was through, he came back twice with changes and additions he thought of later in the day. And Jake spent a good four hours comprising his Pathways piece, listening over and over to his interview on tape and calling the organizations several times to check and recheck information he had heard during his interview with its director.

The scene in the office the Friday before the new issue came out was a true hardworking newsroom. Myself, Jesse, Brenda and Cliff were all writing away getting pieces ready for the paper. And it was particularly amusing because Cliff was on picture duty for the "Thank You" picture. And every time a vendor would come in he would ask, "Do you have second to take a picture with an H?" or whatever letter we were on, and the vendor would then stare and Cliff confused and Cliff would then try and explain the photo idea we had.

With all the vendor involvement this month, the issue was much fun to put together and it also made me realize that our vendors can do just about anything when it comes to writing, especially if something they care deeply about.

So look forward to many more vendor pieces in the upcoming months and hopefully we will do another all vendor issue in the not too distant future, LAURA

Happy New Year! 2 by 2/2 is Official...

2007-01-08T16:28:00.000-08:00

So its been far too long since I have written a blog entry. I was doing so well and then Christmas came and then New Years, and life was quite busy personally and with Street Sense.

See, during all that time when most everyone was relaxing, gorging on Christmas cookies and spending quality time with family and friends, we here at Street Sense were working hard to raise money so we could indeed go semi-monthly and meet our goal of 2 by 2/2 (that's two issue by Feb. 2, 2007.)

And I am happy to report that we were indeed successful as of Friday Jan. 5 we surpassed our goal of raising $22,500 and we did it in a month and a half. So come February 2, 2007, Street Sense will indeed be releasing its first of many, many more second issues each month.

I am excited and also nervous about this huge step Street Sense will be taking. It means a lot more income for vendors but it also means lots more work for me and all of the already hard working Street Sense volunteers and vendor writers.

But to help with this work load we are currently in the process of hiring a full-time editor. I expected a good deal of response from the "editor wanted" ad I put on journalismjobs.com as if I was looking at the websites postings, (as I often did before coming fulltime to Street Sense) I would find the job appealing, but I honestly never expected the surge of applications that came. I already have about 30 applications in hand, and most are from very qualified candidates with years of experience, coming from quality paper like the Houston Chronicle and the Legal Times.

And its very exciting and heartwarming to read their cover letters. Professional journalist are talking about this one job a scrappy street paper in DC being their dream job, a perfect merging of their career and calling, and an experience they have been looking for for years. Its great that so many people in the professional media world really do respect a publication like Street Sense and want to be a part of it to make it better.

So, now its onto reviewing resumes. Its a tough task ahead. So far I have narrowed it down to about seven candidates but still there is a lot of analysis ahead.

Anyway, big things are to come for Street Sense and I am truly excited. Me and Jesse have passed along the official "2 by 2/2" word along to vendors and everyone is giddy. They are bursting to tell their customers and plotting with other vendors about how to take advantage of this new opportunities. And I cannot wait to see what else the 2 by 2/2 news produces!

Christmas Presents and Christmas Cheer

2006-12-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

Thursday Dec. 20th was one of the best days yet for Street Sense, and really reminded me why I’m doing what I’m doing.

It marked our fourth annual vendor Christmas party, which was bigger and better than ever. It was also the day our new t-shirts finally arrived (just in time for the party.) And that day the organization also received a long awaited grant of $10,000 from the Rapoport Family Foundation. (Yeah!) And the already fabulous day ended with the Homeless Memorial Day Vigil, where there was a huge turn out and a great and meaningful program.

But besides these milestone events, the day was just great because of the happiness, appreciation and excitement that most all of the vendors were displaying. (I hugged more vendors on Thursday then I have in my entire three years at Street Sense.)

Like last year, volunteers had “adopted” vendors and bought them Christmas gifts (of around $40 each) based off of lists that each vendor composed. And we also a about 15 pairs of boots (thanks to my wonderful mom) and 15 tote bags with socks, gloves and hats in the them (thanks to the International Science and Technology Association.) To give out to all vendors, even the new ones who had joined after all the Christmas lists went out.

And most all of the vendors were visible touched by their gifts, as many of them have not had a Christmas present especially for them in a long time. Don Gardner was thrilled with a new jacket he got commenting, “There is no way they spent just $40 on this!” Corey Bridges was left speechless opening up his multiple gifts including a sweat suit and some new gloves.

And it was also neat to be part of this energetic interaction as its rare we have nearly all of our vendors in one room at time. Many of them were talking about how Street Sense has helped them in different ways. Others were devising plans on how to improve sales, and still others were discussing ideas that would make great editorials.

One particularly memorable and touching moment for me was when longtime vendor Bobby Buggs decided to offer up a blessing before we ate. He began with the traditional thanks to God for food and friends to share it with, but ended thanking God “for bringing Street Sense into my life and the lives of others” and “for all that Street Sense has done for me.”

But the one comment that really got into my heart was something said in passing by a new vendor, Kevin Singleton. He came up to me to tell me how great the party was and how much he appreciated it and he said, “This party and everything is so great! I am so thankful I can be part of this – part of a family. Even real families don’t do things this nice.”

Though I have only received on two or three Christmas presents so far, I can assuredly say that this comment from Kevin is the best Christmas present for me this year….LAURA

New Vendors Rock!

2006-12-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

I don't know if its Jesse's efforts as the new vendor manager or the anticipation of more income that comes with going semi-monthly or if its just the excitement of the holiday season, but we have had a swarm of new vendors in the last week. And not only are they willing to give Street Sense a shot but they are also very excited about the paper and the opportunity to sell and spread the word.

Last Thursday we trained three new vendors, which is a record in one day for probably the last year. And two of them have already come back enough times to get their permanent badge. One vendor Michael Higgs, sold 40 of the super-old issue in one day (he was accidentally given the October issue in the midst of confusion on Thursday) and when the new issue came out he immediately bought 60 papers without hesitation, explaining that "Its hard work but people love it!"

Another one, Kevin Singleton, came in Monday all excited about the paper and was really taken a back by how people responded to it and how the respected him for selling it. And a new woman vendor, Louise Davenport came in all wide-eyed about the prospect of selling Street Sense in Virginia.

And then there are the old/new vendors (those who have not been vendors in over six months, but have decided to return for one reason or another) that include Anthony Crawford, Willie Alexander and Henry Washington. And all of them are selling papers like mad men.

And its great because these new vendors are spreading their excitement to other homeless individuals and encouraging them to become vendors as well, so it really just a domino effect. Its funny because many new vendors lately say that they have heard of Street Sense for sometime but are suddenly coming to be trained. I cannot pinpoint the draw, but I am sure its a convergence of many things at this very generous time of the year.

So while these new men and women may not have yet earned their vest (it takes at least three weeks for that) please so them the respect and courtesy as old vendors.

And don't get me wrong,its great that we have many established vendors who have been with us for two or even three years, that provide much incite and excitement to Street Sense, but like anything, its always good to mix it up a bit with changes and additions, LAURA

Editorial Crunch Time

2006-12-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

When the first couple of issues of Street Sense came out in the winter of 03-04, there was serious doubt that they would actually be completed and in the vendors hands in time. But with the great efforts and creativity of Ted and I, we made it happen, even if we did not have the content to fill 16 pages (the size we started at.) This would include making really large pulled quotes, including random stand alone pictures we took at the last minute, pulling stories from other street paper or creating ads or wish lists for us, NCH or other nonprofits helping us out. In fact, there was only one time, I recall, that we came out late (outside of the 15th falling on a weekend) and that was just by a day or two.

Now, there is no longer the question of will the paper come out on time. It always does, no matter how frantic or calm the days following its release is. We have dedicated volunteers and vendors that are willing to make it happen. And for that I am ever grateful because its allows me to keep my sanity and few extra hours of sleep.

Case in point, today Jesses Smith, who typically is managing and helping out the vendors did a last minute restaurant review today after several other canidates fell through. (He is typing it up at home as I write.) On his way there, he also ended up snapping a photo for the recipe contest. And Cliff Carle took a last minute photo for the library article this morning. And Corey Bridges gave up 20 minutes of prime lunchtime selling time to be interviewed for the vendor profile, which we nearly forgot about after skipping it last issue.

As for volunteers last minute efforts, as I write, Marian Wiseman and David Pike are also doing a preliminary copy-edit of the laid-out issue, and David Hammond will be doing the final proof (as he has done for nearly the last year) tomorrow. And today Linda Wang and Joe Knight did some last minute photo formatting, allowing me lots more time to work on lay out.

Its great how everything comes together. I really don't have to worry and my fretting has gone down considerable in the last year, because I know that things will get done. People will step up and all will work out, and we will have a pretty damn good paper in the end!

LAURA

A Feel Good Day

2006-12-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

So today was a great day in the office, and it was really all about the vendors and the feel good feelings and excitment that they spread through the office.

(It was quite a contrast to the crazy day that was yesterday with Mark Jones rambling a mile a minute about being a Boy Scout and learning how to make a fire, and Cliff Carle playing office volunteer Amy Orndorff in chess while loudly trash talking to no end and saying "umm, umm, umm. toasty" one to many time.)

Anyway, the day began with vendor Anthony Crawford talking about how he was working hard to recruit new vendors and spreading the word to all the panhandlers he saw saying "This is what I do, look how Street Sense has help me. It can help you too."

Later new vendor Lee Mayse came in all excited, exclaiming how he had been spreading the word about Street Sense and how the paper was "hot." He said that all sorts of people were snatching up the paper and giving him well above the $1 donations.

Then veteran vendor Conrad Cheek came it at the end of the day talking about a "blitz" idea. Him and Jesse (the vendor manager) plotted out a grand plan where four or five vendors go to an area where vendors don't typically go and sell the paper and promote it intensely for a day or two to really get people interested and to open up new locations for vendors. I think it is a great idea and really hope Jesse and the other vendorsfollows up on it.

But the best part of the day was when Jesse and vendor Jake Ashford came back after seeing an early screening of "The Pursuit of Happiness" (The Will Smith movie about a homeless man and his son that is due out in theaters next Friday.) Both of them came back raving about the movie and saying how realistic and touching it was. In fact both of these grown men admitted to crying during the movie. And then Jake called his teenage son and talked briefly but nevertheless, started getting teary-eyed.

I love the vendors!! They are such great men and women with genunine hearts and real enthusiam. And I hope through the brief encounters readers have on the street with them, they get to see this truely human side as well....LAURA

Good Bye August

2006-11-30T15:35:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was August Mallory's going away party. For all that don't know, August is a vendor/writer/volunteer who has been with Street Sense from the start. He helped bring in some of our first vendors and was the first vendor to ever purchase papers from Street Sense. He has also been writing a fictional series called Marvin Hammerman since the the second issue. (Fortunately for us, he said he would continue it when he leaves DC.)

August has decided to pick up and move way across country to Seattle, Wash. for reasons that are still unclear. But he has his mind set and will be flying out tomorrow. So last night we had a little going away party for him in the Parish Hall of the church where we are located. To be honest the party was kind of thrown together in a couple weeks, but it turned out wonderfully with great food, lots of people and many memories (and inpersonations of August.) A great mix of people attended including vendors, volunteers and readers.

The main part of the evening consisted of people standing up in no particular order to say a little bit about August and what they like/remember most. There were quite a few, "Street Sense. $1. $1." inpersonations and many comments about August's reliability and, um, dry, sense of humor ("Boy, I'll tell ya.") And at the end of it all long time volunteer David Hammond "retired" August's number complete with a 3-foot tall badge with his photo. But the great surprise of the night was this acapella gospel trio that sung two songs for August. (Really the biggest surprise of that was that vendor Charles Nelson was the one who actually brought the group in.)

It was a great night and very heartwarming and enjoyable. It was great to see how many lives August has touched and effected. That's what Street Sense is all about: our vendors putting a face to homelessness and showing people that we are all the same inside and have the same hopes and dreams and common caring for others.

We will miss August greatly at the Street Sense office. From the beginning he has been Mr. Reliable and has been a great promoter of the paper as well. But his legacy will remain in his many had written signs around the office, his continued Marvin Hammerman story, and most importantly the empty space that is now left at the corner of Conn. Ave, and K streets near Farragut North.

If you have any memories of August, PLEASE share them. We would love to here how he has effected your life....LAURA

Walkathon

2006-11-29T13:49:00.000-08:00

I know this blog entry is super late and I know I have already broke my promise of writing on a consistent basis. But I will try my hardest now to do at least one (maybe two) entries a week, as I do in my personal journal. Its much more manageable then the overly ambitious 3 a week, I promised.

Anyway, onto the walkathon....

The Walkathon was Saturday Nov. 21, a huge event for our vendors giving them ample opportunity to sell papers, make money and promote Street Sense to an even wider audience. And like the past three walkathon's this one was very fun and very profitable. It might have been our best yet.

I got downtown 7:30 am and set up our distribution point at 7th and Indiana, NW. A fabulous location as it was near the Starbucks closest to the National Mall. Obeying orders we got from police last year, we decided to stay off the Mall this year and sell on the sides streets. And that worked just fine as floods of people were coming and going from the archives and gallery place metros and the parking garages all around them.

The first vendor to arrive was Wendell William and he brought a table. (I couldn't believe it!) but he excitedly set it up at the corner of 7th and Penn. I was sure the police were going to yell at him to put it away but fortunately that never happened. About a dozen other vendors came to pick up papers and in total we distributed about 1,300 paper that day, not counting what vendors brought along with them....not too shabby, I must say, especially when all the vendors I talked to reported making $100 or more that morning.

Me and Jesse stayed at the Starbucks locale all morning handing out papers and promoting the paper with our banner and jesse's yelling. "Street Sense. All the news the Post doesn't cover" "Street Sense. Stories about housing, shelters and health care"....at one point in time I even think he said something about porn but he claims he said poetry. And I did a few Street Sense cheers..."Give me an S. Give me an E...." And vendor Anthony crawford also sold papers nearby and made some great money.

We even got to talk to Anthony Williams and get our picture with him. (He got a paper but did not looked too thrilled about all the photos.) We also met a few loyal subscribers and donors who also stopped by to say hi.

So it was a great day for a walkathon and for selling Street Sense and I had much fun and the vendors did as well.

And to top it all off after the walkathon me Jesse and a few other went back to the office to unload our new used office furniture compliments of Lattice Group (our website hosting group). Which has since been set up and makes our office look far more professional then it ever has.

So a good day for Street Sense indeed.....LAURA

Three Year Anniversary

2006-11-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

So today marks the third birthday of Street Sense. On Nov. 15, 2003, the first issue of Street Sense hit the streets of DC. I won't bore you by regurgitating what my letter to readers in this current issue (though, do read it if you get a copy) but I do want to reminisce a bit about the first day to remind people of how far we have come.

Street Sense's first issue had a print run of 5,000 (this month we printed 13,500) and that was probably way too much. I remember standing outside of the National Coalition for the Homeless's office building (where we were originally headquartered) on a misty morning with the other co-founder Ted Henson anxiously awaiting vendors to come and pick up papers. I had even brought bagel and coffee to welcome them. We were so geared up because the Washington Times had run a front page article about us. And all that showed up in the first hour was August Mallory (who had helped us with starting the paper and recruiting vendors).

And following August, probably another 5 vendors showed up. It was a bit disappointed as me and Ted and many other volunteers had put most of our time during the past two months into developing and creating the paper (and many of our friends and family helped to financially support the first printing), but we did not give up. Ted and the Fred Anderson (who was our volunteer vendor coordinator) went to shelters and helped to recruit vendors. A few of our first vendors include Phillip Howard, James Davis, Allen Jones, Conrad Cheek Jr. and Bobby Buggs. In the next few weeks we had about 10 vendors and I think we sold about 3500 papers (I cannot remember exactly and we kept terrible records back then.)

...so that is the beginning of Street Sense....

Now we have a 43 active vendors -- 18 of them came in today to buy papers -- and the numbers will only be growing as our new vendor manager Jesse Smith Jr. just joined us, doubling the Street Sense staff, which I only joined a year ago. (For the first two years it was all volunteer run.)

Our office is still very chaotic and some would say disorganized by its 100 times better than what it once was. Its funny to think of our live and learn process and neither ted nor I had ever run a street paper before. Simply things like setting office hours, specific times for training, putting the papers in a room far away from the office and having limits on papers on credit were implemented early on and vastly improved our operations.

I also look back now at the layout and stories from our first couple issues and ask myself "what were we thinking?" as they look amature compared to our most recent issues. But I remember that we had to start somewhere and that this whole Street Sense thing is really and evolution. And three years from now I will probably look back at the current issue and say the same thing. So change is good, but hopefully those at street sense will never forget its beginnings.

I could reminisce for hours about the early days of Street Sense but I will end here (for now). However, I really welcome comments from any long time readers and volunteers about their first impressions and the develop of the vendors, the paper and the organization.

Happy Anniversary Street Sense,

Laura Thompson Osuri
Executive Director

The Office Begins

2006-11-14T12:51:00.000-08:00

So this is the start of "The Office Street Sense Style."

This blog is meant to kind of be a journal of the amusing, chaotic and exciting place that is the Street Sense Office. Either myself or our new vendor manager Jesse Smith will be writing entries on a regularly (at least three times a week) basis.

And pretty much everything goes when it comes to what to expect from these entries (Except disclosing the private information of our vendors and volunteers, of course.) so its worth checking on in on a regular basis. Not only will the antics of our office provide a great distraction to your own work day, but they will also give you a glimpse of who the vendors, volunteers and staff of Street Sense really are.

In the last week alone there have been some great highlights. For example on Friday vendor Chris Sellman was downloading wacky music onto one of our newly donated laptops (which he just purchased Monday) and me, Chris, Jesse (the new vendor manager), and Peter (the intern) had a brief seated dance party has he cranked up "Barbie Girl."

And yesterday the vendors were chattier than ever as me and volunteer Marian Wiseman were intently trying to edit the final layout of the paper. So in between reading stories, we heard about Cliff Carle's days of fooling around in high school and Chris Sellman's many musings about his ex-wife. And then there was vendor Allen Jones who trying to sell Marian on some new gardening device he recently read about, and trying to explain to me some new tennis racket he wants me to buy. (Allen is never at a lose for new ideas!)

Today was calmer, which was much appreciated as I had to get the paper up on the FTP site and to the printers by 3pm (three hours earlier than normal.) But the was the amusing distraction of Cliff Carle trying desperately to hit on Anne Marie (a pastor at the church of the epiphany) and her pastor friend) telling they the were "fine black women" and trying to impress them with his Bible knowledge.

So that is just a glimpse of things to come!

Enjoy reading on and comments and questions are also welcome,

Laura Thompson Osuri
Executive Director