Street Sense is a weekly street newspaper sold by self-employed homeless distributors ("vendors") on the streets of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It is published by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Street Sense Media, which also produces documentary filmmaking, photography, theatre, illustration and poetry. The organization says this media, most of which is created by homeless and formerly homeless people, is designed to break down stereotypes and educate the community. Street Sense Media is a member of the International Network of Street Papers and the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Newspaper

The newspaper is a collaborative effort between homeless vendors, freelancers, and staff, focusing on issues of homelessness and poverty. It provides a "no-barrier" work opportunity for homeless individuals, fostering community engagement and social conversation. , Street Sense Media has over 130 active vendors distributing roughly 10,000 newspapers every two-week cycle.

Media Center

Ten years after it was founded as a street newspaper, the organization began expanding into multimedia content in 2013, starting with theatre. Street Sense Media's theatre groups — Staging Hope (inter-generational) and Devising Hope (adults) — perform original works throughout the D.C. metro area, exploring themes such as love, family, grief, and personhood. The next year, the organization founded the nation's first homeless filmmakers cooperative, a group of homeless and formerly homeless people working together to share their experience through film. The group's first three films premiered at E St. Cinema in the spring of 2015. Two more — both directed by formerly homeless women — premiered at E St. Cinema that fall. In 2015, Street Sense Media launched a podcast, Sounds from the Street, which featured conversations with activists, policymakers and people experiencing homelessness. The organization's artists also produce photography, illustration and writing. Street Sense Media provides weekly courses, tailored for its homeless and formerly homeless vendors, in each type of media it produces.

History

Street Sense published its first newspaper, Street Sense, in November 2003, three months after two volunteers, Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson, approached the National Coalition for the Homeless about starting a street paper in Washington, D.C. For the first year, Street Sense operated as a project of the National Coalition, but in October 2004, the organization incorporated and moved into its own office space.

Awards

Winner Finalist