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. The layout is designed by one of the paper’s founders, Jacob Hieter, and is edited by journalist and photographer Erin Sheridan. The paper is printed and distributed to 30,000 Treasure Valley households once a month with the help of the Idaho Press.

In April 2022, we joined the International Network of Street Papers in order to launch the Word on the Street Vendor Program. Readers will now be able to purchase copies from vendors who are experiencing homelessness. This program aims to build a community based in empathy and compassion while also helping guests enrolled in the vendor program 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!