Salzburg street paper wins top human rights award

Austrian street paper Apropos has received the Rose for Human Rights for its work with migrant vendors in Salzburg.

The Platform for Human Rights awards the prize annually to organizations that make an exceptional contribution to the maintenance and defence of civil and human rights.

Winners of the 2014 Rose for Human Rights.

Last year, the street paper played an active part in a conference that addressed the treatment of migrants, travellers and beggars in the Austrian city.

The event was a response to the prejudice and approximately one hundred and thirty people forced to beg on the streets of Salzburg face daily.

Apropos, a member of INSP, is seen as a best practice model that offers people in Salzburg an alternative to begging through selling street papers to lift themselves out of poverty.

“We are very happy about the prize and feel honoured to be awarded together with all these other great and devoted social organisations,” said Katrin Schmoll, editor of Apropos.

“In the past few years we tried to include our migrant vendors in different projects, such as our language course, to improve their situation and make them feel welcome in Salzburg. It's a good feeling to know that these efforts are being recognized.”

Apropos received the Rose for Human Rights (Die Rose für Menschenrechte) along with thirty other non-profit organisations and projects that champion people living in poverty throughout South Eastern Europe.

Other recipients of the award include The Poverty Conference Salzburg, the Salzburg Peace Bureau, community TV channel FS1 and its presenter Kurt Bauer, and a number of different religious organisations.

Our vendors: Harry Richards - Street Roots, Portland

Drug addiction led Harry Richards into homelessness and eventually prison. But time behind bars helped him discover a new habit - drawing. 

The aspiring artist now earns a living selling Street Roots from his pitch outside the Starbucks at Southwest Ninth Avenue and Taylor Street in Portland, Oregon. 

Harry has also drawn caricatures on the street for tips and donations since 2010.

Harry Richards sells Street Roots in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Sarah Hansell

But Harry doesn't just share his art with people who are willing to tip. Many of his subjects are poor or experiencing homelessness, so he draws them for free.

"I lived my life selfishly for many, many years being a drug addict,” said Harry. “Now that I've been off drugs for over six years, I want to give back."

Harry learned to draw in prison by doing scale drawings and looking at cartoon books. He's come a long way since then. 

He now lives in a two-bedroom apartment with his nephew and nephew's friend, and has plans to convert the master bedroom into an art studio. He draws and paints abstracts, architectural and spiritual art, and sells it online with the help of his producer, who discovered him in 2008.

Drawing caricatures for money, however, isn't a viable option for Harry all year round. So when he met someone selling Street Roots in November 2013, he decided to try it for himself. 

Since then, Harry has brought four more people to Street Roots. "It's better than being dependent on other people and having no self-esteem," he said.

Harry enjoys the people he gets to meet while selling papers - from doctors, lawyers and orchestra musicians, to people from around the world staying in downtown hotels. 

He encourages people to seek out Street Roots as a source of income, as well as an opportunity to connect with others. 

"Even if you can't trust right now, you're still gonna make social friends, which can open you up to show that the world is kind," Harry said. 

"All you gotta do is look at it from a Street Roots point of view, which is don't judge and you won't be judged."

This is a summary of an article by Street Roots reporter Sarah Hansell published on INSP's News Service. Street paper editors can view, download and republish the full article here.

Washington street paper crowdfunds to give vendors Digital Hope

By Laura Smith

UPDATE: We're happy to report that this project has been fully funded. 

A Washington DC street paper is tapping into the creativity and sales experience of its vendors to help them start their own digital marketing businesses.

Street Sense plans to run an in-depth online marketing course for vendors who also contribute to the publication through a side project called Digital Hope.

Street Sense vendors take part in a Digital Hope class.

It was a connection between vendor and writer Ibn Hipps and digital marketing professional Adam Motiwala that inspired the course.

Adam regularly buys his copies of Street Sense from Ibn. After reading the vendor's writing, Adam worked one-on-one with Ibn to teach him how to start his own blog contract.

"That intersection where vendor and reader find common ground is a key aspect of Street Sense's mission," said the paper's editor Eric Falquero.

The new Digital Hope course will allow five homeless and formerly homeless people to develop skills in digital marketing and learn how to work as independent contractors.

DC Social Innovation Project has pledged $3000 to develop the programme and determine its sustainability for future classes. But Street Sense will only receive those funds if they raise a further $1500 by 26 February.

To get the project off the ground, the street paper put out a plea for public donations via crowdfunding programme indiegogo.com on 2 February.

If fully funded, Adam will train veteran writers from Street Sense during a 16-week intensive course held in a local library. Participants will earn $25 per class and receive a bonus for completing the class and showing good teamwork.

Each student will leave with two client projects for their portfolio, and the knowledge of how to maintain an online profile and market themselves for future blog writing contracts. The funding will help run the class and provide computers and software.

“Providing and refining digital skills is necessary for anyone to enter today's workforce,” added Eric.

“Learning how to leverage these skills independently and online goes a step further to remove other employment barriers individuals may face.

A Street Sense vendor in Washington DC.

"Vending street papers is not a career, its a stepping stone: a tool and opportunity for someone to pull themselves out of poverty. 

“We exist to empower our vendors. Digital Hope aims to extend their path of low-barrier independent employment into a whole new market."

Eric is aware that the project will only be successful if its participants are truly motivated.

Luckily ambition, determination and never shying away from hard graft are essential characteristics for street paper vendors.

"If this is gonna help me pay my rent and achieve my goals, let's do it,” said Digital Hope participant Reginald Black.

Ibn Hipps adds that this opportunity won’t just help him pull himself out of poverty: "When you talk about making money you have to talk about commitment. This isn't just for me, it's for my kids.”

The group has already completed work for a California health clinic. Work for a new client began on 29 January 2015.

You can help fund Street Sense’s Digital Hope digital marketing class for vendors here.

Celebrating #VendorWeek 2015 with the world’s newest street paper

By Laura Kelly

As INSP’s #VendorWeek continues around the world, a ground-breaking new project is on the verge of launching in Mexico City. INSP speaks to the founder of Mi Valedor - the world’s newest street paper.

Mexico’s capital city is home to tens of thousands of homeless people living on the streets. Many live their whole lives without ever having a place to call their own. Some are the third generation of their family to be born into homelessness. Opportunities to escape the cycle of poverty are limited, and violent gangs prey on the estimated 40 percent of the country’s population who live in poverty.

In this challenging and dangerous environment, 26-year-old artist Maria Portilla is leading a team of six brave young women — all in their mid-20s, and without any prior experience in the magazine industry — to bring her home country its first street paper.

Mi Valedor will soon join 114 street newspapers in 35 countries around the world that are part of INSP (International Network of Street Papers)

“Mexico City needs this,” Maria says. “There are grandparents who were born in the streets and have lived their whole lives there. There are very few organisations, or laws from the government, to help homeless people. The government doesn’t even have a proper count of the people living in the street. So they are super-excluded. They don’t have any good attention or facilities.”

Mi Valedor has recieved support from INSP to launch their street paper. Mi Valedor is “my pal” in Mexican slang, but Maria says its meaning for them is “something like ‘my protector’ or ‘someone who looks out for me.’ That’s what the street paper aims to be for its vendors."

Alongside Catholic charity La Carpa (The Tent), they have already recruited 10 vendors to start selling their publication. They hope to add to that number soon with help from Street Soccer Mexico, the local organization that sends a team to the Homeless World Cup each year.

Over the past weeks, the women have been getting to know the people who will be selling Mi Valedor. Having based the Mi Valedor office in a creative area, they aim to link their vendors into that community. They recently ran a sewing workshop for the group (see right).

“All of them have lived many years on the street. Three of them have lived all their life on the street, since they were children,” Maria says.

The stories of how they became homeless may be varied but one thing binds all of the vendors: they want a way out of homelessness and off the streets. “They don’t want to be there anymore,” Maria says.

Miguel Angel Valencia, a 53-year-old Mi Valedor vendor agrees. “Today, I woke up with the motivation to keep going, and not return to the way things were before,” he says. “I learned from the streets; it’s easy to lose yourself there, as an addict, no job, just wandering. Now, I am looking to correct things. Employment is what I was looking for.”

This is a summary of an article written by INSP's Laura Kelly for our News Service. Street paper staff can view and download the full article here.

Is this the world’s longest-serving street paper vendor?

This week, INSP's #VendorWeek celebrates over 14,000 vendors who sell street papers around the world. Among that number is Algia Benjamin from Boston, who might just be world's longest-serving street paper vendor.

Algia has been selling one of America's oldest street papers, Spare Change News, on the sidewalks of Boston for 22 years. The 53-year-old started the job just three months after the paper was founded.

Algia Benjamin has sold Spare Chnage News for 22 years.

He was raised by his mother in Alabama in the early 1960s and moved to Boston with his family in 1966.

Growing up during the Civil Rights movement when segregation was still in place, Algia remembers his mother being so afraid that she sometimes felt reluctant to take them out on trips.

He says those were the days when a black man couldn't pass a white woman on the sidewalk without being expected to move aside. It's no surprise his mother is the person he most admires in life.

"My mother had 10 children and held it all together," he says. "She made sure we had a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs."

The strong example Algia received from his mother is what inspires him to offer the same support to his 14-year-old daughter.

Knowing that the stress of financial insecurity can prevent people enjoying the good things in life, he wants his daughter to be free of that worry. So he works seven days a week selling Spare Change News outside CVS pharmacy in Boston's Porter Square.

Algia says the perks of working as a vendor include meeting lots of people. He sees about 40 people regularly in Porter Square and many of them have become friends and acquaintances, especially those who stop for a chat.

Sometimes, Algia feels "like a street psychologist. I value being able to communicate well. People talk to me about everything under the sun."

The veteran street paper vendor loves his job and says he's happiest "when I open my eyes in the morning and I can look out and see the sun shining upon my face. God has given me another day-another day to become a better person."

This is a summary of an article written by Spare Change News reporter Andrew Warburton. Street paper editors can view and download the full article on INSP's News Service here.