I like to congratulate Street Sense on its 500th edition.
I feel like I have been part of something tremendous, for there were many attempts to start homeless newspapers before Street Sense arrived.
I want to thank the original vendors: August Mallory, James Davis, Conrad Cheeks, and – God rest his soul– Anthony Crawford. They all represented Street Sense and changed perceptions about homelessness.
I remember when I became a member in 2008. I was broke, homeless, and an alcoholic, and I was uneducated with poor writing skills. Thank God, I had a forum to vent my frustration with homelessness.
When life gets better we sometimes get swept away from the basic cause of Street Sense.
When you see homelessness, it makes you put things in perspective. Next time you are upset that you had to wait in line an extra 15 minutes for your king salmon, remember there are homeless people waiting two hours in a soup kitchen to get a bologna sandwich.
I thought I would never wind up in the street. However, there are unforeseen consequences where you need someone to lift you up. Street Sense has helped more people become self-sustaining than any other organization I know.
I apologize to former customers that I have offended, I regret that we could never patch up old wounds. My door is open to chat. And I appreciate customers that still buy from me while I have said some of the most outrageous things.
Because Street Sense leads to opportunities, we can stray from the ultimate cause which is not making money but changing perceptions around homelessness, not reinforcing them.
No newspaper comes close to expressing what it’s like being homeless, relying on the shelter system and social services.
What I loved about Street Sense was that it taught me entrepreneurship. I learned that if you expect politicians, presidents or social workers to lead you to an easy life, you are better off buying a lottery ticket. It’s not good to wait and pray. You need to knock on doors and ask people to help you write resumes, and go to a writing workshop to publish articles.You should attend free workshops. These things may be trivial but the more you contribute, the more it helps you better withstand the good times and bad.
Writing helped me to learn to speak the ugly truth about homelessness, the good people vs. the out of touch and condescending.
Nobody lives forever, but I hope when I pass on, this organization will issue another 500 papers so people that need help can pass them on to other people.
