Word on the Street

Word on the Street is a collection of personal narratives, artwork, poetry, and reporting on social issues in the Treasure Valley and beyond. Our newspaper addresses the stigma of homelessness and its material consequences while also providing a platform for people to tell their own stories. Our purpose is to raise awareness and motivate the community to create change that benefits all of us.
Word on the Street was founded through Project Well-Being, a day program at Interfaith Sanctuary focused on mental health and recovery and is edited by journalist and photographer Erin Sheridan. The newspaper is printed and distributed to 30,000 Treasure Valley households once a month with the help of the Idaho Press.
In April 2022, we launched the Word on the Street Vendor Program. Readers can now purchase copies from vendors who are experiencing homelessness in downtown Boise. This program aims to build a community based in compassion while helping vendors earn income through an immediate low-barrier work opportunity.
If you have a story you’d like to see in Word on the Street, please feel free to send them to erin@interfaithsanctuary.org. We would love to hear from you!
Read the latest on the Word on the Street Blog!
A shelter full of hope and second chances
In the past year our shelter has not grown any larger but our ability to serve our guests in more meaningful ways has grown in leaps and bounds. Witnessing the daily shelter activities designed to bring safety, stability, employment and wellness to our guests is inspiring.
Where are they supposed to go?
Word on the Street gives voice to a community that has decisions made around them, about them and against them, with little time spent by the decision makers talking to them. Stories from individuals experiencing homelessness can facilitate deeper learning about social justice issues by putting a face to them. Policy affects people.
Blankets of Hope
Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. The good news is for you is that you don’t know how great you are and can be. How much you can love. What you can accomplish and what your potential is. You be you and it will be better.
Art gets personal
Interfaith Sanctuary launches #GetToKnowMe campaign in anticipation of World Homeless Day. Interfaith Sanctuary is excited to partner with local photographer Matthew Wordell for #GetToKnowMe – An Art Exhibit.
Community Highlights
Team Interfaith Sanctuary – The Night Shift
Local leader visits Interfaith Sanctuary
We are grateful for our local community leaders.
New beginnings and second chances
Michael is committed to sharing his story so that we can improve this system, so the next person being released from prison has an easier time finding their way back.
The stigma of homelessness
People spend their lives tearing each other down destroying each others careers, reputation, and metal health. Society creates an expensive world with sky high rents, pricey automobiles and services that not all can afford. We live in a world where how much you earn is more important than treating another person fairly.