Regular Street Sense customers may have noticed a bright and shiny vests bearing the Street Sense logo turning up on the streets of Washington D.C. The organization has decided to follow through with rebranding by incorporating the familiar Street Sense logo into a new visibility vest design, which first hit the streets in early August.
Although the new vests have many familiar characteristics of the previous versions, the design has a couple key differences, including the method by which a Street Sense vendor becomes eligible to receive this vest.
The vest is roughly the same color as the previous designs, technically “lime green” for anyone keeping track of specifications. The vest is also the same basic shape as previous designs. However, the new design of the vest includes the current logo of the organization on the front of the vest rather than the older logo. The vest is also made of a more breathable mesh which can be washed more easily and regularly.
Getting a Street Sense visibility vest represents the biggest change the organization has made to the familiar symbol. Vendors who wish to wear the Street Sense vest must now return a special verification form to the organization in order to qualify to receive one of the vests. In order to fill out this form, a vendor is required to approach another organization in the Washington D.C. area that provides services to people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Though vendors are not required to sign up for any services at this other organization, they are asked to inquire about the types of services this organization might be able to offer that are not currently offered through Street Sense.
Street Sense believes vendors will use this incentive to learn about the myriad of services available in the D.C. area. As Street Sense is an organization desiring to be a stepping stone, the concern is not generating sales as much as it is that vendors find success. Whether this comes directly through involvement with Street Sense or through connection with other organizations more able to provide the assistance needed by vendors is not important as long as vendors are able to move toward their goals.
Of course, not all vendors will have the new version of the vest just yet. The program is not mandatory. Vendors who don’t want to participate will not be prohibited from distributing the newspaper. They can still use the older version of the vest or can distribute the newspaper with only the Street Sense badge. But for vendors willing to go a step further in helping themselves, the organization is confident these new vests will greatly improve their abilities to distribute the newspaper. And with more than half of the active vendors submitting verifications within the first two weeks of the program, Street Sense is confident many vendors are wholly committed to doing whatever it takes to be successful.
