Voice of the street

Let it be known that the impoverished people of Toledo have a voice and it is named "Toledo Streets," a monthly publication speaking out in the spirit of empowering people struggling with poverty.

"[Toledo Streets] is about advocacy and communication between people through poetry, through photography, through articles and essays," said Amanda F. Moore, managing editor of the publication. "There is such a stigma regarding homelessness and we have somehow gotten to the point where if somebody doesn't have a house or a regular place to stay then they are less than human. If somebody is asking for help on the streets, people think it's wrong, but it's not wrong."

Toledo Streets is a "paper with a mission," as stated in the subhead. The paper revolves around issues related to homelessness and the unhoused; the content and writers all deal with poverty and its affects on the Toledo area. In the April 2010 issue, content ranges from "Being homeless is illegal," "Farming in the city," to various poetry and essays.

With a fine collective of writers entrenched in the burrows of Toledo's troubles, Toledo Streets is a veritable ‘street paper.'

"Traditional papers across the nation are folding, street papers are doing well," Moore said. "Most street papers are designed for people who are experiencing homelessness or on the verge of being impoverished. It's a way to get people off the streets and keep them off the streets."

According to Street-Papers.org, "In many cities around the world, the sight of human beings sleeping in doorways, scrounging in alleys for food scraps or rattling paper cups in search of loose change has begun to seem unexceptional—even inevitable—and therefore unworthy of attention. The global crisis of homelessness is not only all too common, but also all too commonly ignored, overlooked or misunderstood."

Street papers are used for community growth in countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, America, Norway, Scotland and many others across the world. All of this is in pursuit of a balance between society and community through a "power to the people" state of mind.

"Community Connection" based in Los Angeles, California is one of many North American street papers dedicated to giving voice to the poor. "Community Connection" is in association with the North American Street Papers organization.

"It's very clear that the main street press has stories they want to tell Americans," said Pete White, co-director of "Community Connection." "[Street papers] are for people living on the ground, people living on the street dealing with life's terms.

"We're definitely not trying to occupy a mainstream space," he said. "We want to do that rough and dirty, cutting-edge paper that tells the people's truth."

As with "Toledo Streets," "Community Connection" is dispensed based on a vendor program.

"It's like an exchange. It could be sold in the range of one dollar or up," White said. "It's a good economic development. Temporary for sure, but it helps when just trying to get by."

According to White, approximately 75 percent of their distribution occurs through community vendors and residents in LA "coming through life's trials."

"Community Connection" runs approximately 15,000 copies per month.

"That content is coming from real people," White said. "It's like a magnet that brings in like minds as well as people who want to know what's going on in the community."

White believed that the positive feedback circulating in the California area is possible in northwest Ohio.

"If you have that sort of content that relates to the people, I'm almost positive folks in Toledo would want to sell their paper," he said. "I know in San Francisco, it has been running for about 15 years. In previous years, they have gotten rid of close to a million copies per year. Let's be clear, they had a large vendor program."

Similarly, "Toledo Streets" works around a vendor program and encourages the community to become involved. Vendors purchase each paper for 25 cents and request a donation of $1.

According to Moore, the purpose of street papers is to "continually improve so that people who buy the paper see it as a resource for what is going on in the community. Ways they can get involved or make a difference. So that people actually see that it's not a charity, its community buying."

"What people are looking for is a community experience. I think that it can happen," Moore said. "Maybe I'm too old school but I don't think anything will replace the feeling of having paper in your hand."

The world can be changed with the power of words. The power of books, newspapers, chapbooks and minimal edition publications give people strength and means to persevere during economical or social squalor.

"Toledo Streets" is printed once per month and generally distributed by vendors at the Toledo-Lucas County library in downtown Toledo.

—For more information about "Toledo Streets" or "Community Connection" visit www.ToledoStreets.org and www.Cangress.org/Connection.htm.