“This is what I love. Do it!” These thoughts ran through my head in mid- July when I was six weeks into my editorial internship at Street Sense. Working here taught me the power of words and how they can be used for social change in a community. More than five months ago, I wrote in this same column, “I am leaving this internship experience with hope. These are not the last words I will write because I plan to continue using my writing talents to educate the public on social issues that are related to homelessness and poverty.”
The positive experience I had at Street Sense and the hope of the hard-working vendors encouraged me to follow my passion and create a street newspaper in North Carolina, where I am a student at Elon University.
Before I left my internship, Eric Falquero, a former graphic design intern, and I met with Street Sense’s co-founder, Ted Henson. We hoped to absorb his wisdom about the process of creating Street Sense. Thanks to his knowledge and Street Sense’s support for our endeavors, Eric created The Huntington Pulse, a street newspaper in Huntington, W.V., and I co-founded The New Greensboro Voice in Greensboro, N.C.
Am I crazy for using my limited knowledge of street newspapers to create a grassroots-level newspaper in a North Carolina city? Maybe. But every great accomplishment starts with an idea and passion.
Like Street Sense and other street newspapers, our newspaper’s mission is simple: we hope to provide information about homelessness and poverty to the Greensboro community in order to encourage a discussion about issues and people that are normally ignored.
The New Greensboro Voice was kindly offered a meeting space at the Interactive Resource Center, a day homeless shelter in Greensboro that is housed in empty classroom space at the Bessemer United Methodist Church. Twice a week, a small team of people who are experiencing homelessness, students, teachers and concerned citizens meet in the classroom and create a monthly newsletter.
We have created two newsletters on white paper so far, but we have big hopes for our future. We are still working to create a vendor network like Street Sense’s and hope that people experiencing homelessness can earn an income from selling copies of The New Greensboro Voice throughout the city. For more information, visit our website at thenewgreensborovoice.wordpress.com.
I am thankful that I learned about the benefits and structure of street newspapers during my internship. Working with a team at Street Sense and The New Greensboro Voice has been such a positive experience and I am excited to see how both newspapers grow as a source of news in their respective communities.
