Word on the Street Issue 21, May 2022

Word on the Street was created in 2019 by a group of guests at Interfaith Sanctuary that participate in our shelter’s mental health program, Project Well-Being. The newspaper is a collection of narratives, artwork, poetry, and includes reporting on housing, homelessness and social issues in the community

Our goal is always to raise awareness and amplify the voices of people who deserve to have their voices heard. For the past two years, Idaho Press has made Word on the Street possible by printing the papers and inserting a monthly copy into a Sunday edition of their own paper. 

Thanks to their support, 30,000 households across the Treasure Valley read Word on the Street every month.

Still, we wanted to do more. Last month, we decided to join the International Network of Street Papers. Our newspaper will now follow in the footsteps of street papers around the world – Idaho Press readers will get their monthly insert and residents across Boise will also be able to purchase copies from vendors who are experiencing homelessness.

Our purpose in doing so is to build a community based in empathy and compassion while also helping guests enrolled in the vendor program earn an income through an immediate low-barrier work opportunity.

Ultimately, we believe this will also help our residents experiencing homelessness increase understanding about who makes up our homeless community and erase the stigma of homelessness. Through this program, they have the unique opportunity to be a vital part of helping our community embrace all who call Boise their home.

Each vendor will have a safe location where they can build relationships across the course of time. Ten complementary papers launch our vendors’ efforts. Then, they purchase each paper for a quarter and sell them for $1.00, keeping all profits and tips.

Income is an antidote to poverty. There are so many barriers to housing and employment and we are committed to supporting our friends and neighbors experiencing homelessness as they work to find their way back to employment and housing, and aspire to their best futures.

CONTACT US TO BECOME A VENDOR LOCATION

We’d love to talk about our paper and our vendor program!

EMAIL: jodi@interfaithsanctuary.org