Today the nonprofit Asheville Homeless Network unveiled a new weekly publication, Asheville Street Sentinel. It’s a single-page newsletter devoted to sharing up-to-date information on news relevant to the city’s homeless population.
The newsletter is produced by AHN volunteer David Mayuex. The organization has long distributed a pamphlet that serves as a community-resources guide for homeless folks, he explains, adding that “I wanted to take that idea to the next stage, so that any information related to homelessness would be put out on the a regular basis.”
The first issue of the Street Sentinel features articles about two soon-to-open ABCCM day shelters, an AHN fundraiser, Homeward Bound’s new theatre production that raises funds to fight homelessness, and an alleged counterfeit-check ring wherein the suspected ringleader was using homeless people to cash phony checks.
For now, the Street Sentinel will be offered for free. Presently, it’s available at Firestorm Café and Books, and Mayeux says he’s seeking more distribution points. (Contact him at dmmayeux [at] gmail.com if you’re interested in distributing or otherwise assisting with the publication.) It’s also available as a PDF at www.ashevillehomeless.org.
Mayeux says that the AHN will explore expanding the publication to a tabloid size at some point in the future. If that happens, the group might seek to turn the Street Sentinel into a for-pay publication that homeless people can help sell and keep a portion of the proceeds. That’s a model that’s found some success in cities like Seattle, Chicago and Vancouver, he says.
— Jon Elliston, managing editor
The newsletter is produced by AHN volunteer David Mayuex. The organization has long distributed a pamphlet that serves as a community-resources guide for homeless folks, he explains, adding that “I wanted to take that idea to the next stage, so that any information related to homelessness would be put out on the a regular basis.”
The first issue of the Street Sentinel features articles about two soon-to-open ABCCM day shelters, an AHN fundraiser, Homeward Bound’s new theatre production that raises funds to fight homelessness, and an alleged counterfeit-check ring wherein the suspected ringleader was using homeless people to cash phony checks.
For now, the Street Sentinel will be offered for free. Presently, it’s available at Firestorm Café and Books, and Mayeux says he’s seeking more distribution points. (Contact him at dmmayeux [at] gmail.com if you’re interested in distributing or otherwise assisting with the publication.) It’s also available as a PDF at www.ashevillehomeless.org.
Mayeux says that the AHN will explore expanding the publication to a tabloid size at some point in the future. If that happens, the group might seek to turn the Street Sentinel into a for-pay publication that homeless people can help sell and keep a portion of the proceeds. That’s a model that’s found some success in cities like Seattle, Chicago and Vancouver, he says.
— Jon Elliston, managing editor
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Just what this City needs is a bunch of homeless folks hawking their newsletters on the streets downtown .... does this organization have tax-exempt status .... and just what keeps the homeless from selling the news and pocketing the profits .... anyone can xerox copies of the news and sell them for their own profit .... that is, if anyone actually buys one.
By LOKEL
02/19/2010
Agreed. What next? Will they want the right to vote, too?
By Scott
02/20/2010
Uh, I think "the homeless" selling the paper and pocketing the profits is the point. from http://ashevillehomeless.org/
"All staff is unpaid; all funds received go directly to homeless people in our community."
And yes, I think they do have tax exempt status. Does that bother you, or are you against people helping the homeless, what's your final solution?
By jimmytwotimes
02/22/2010
Good points Jimmytwotimes. Ok...Lokel...we're waiting on your reply!
By Jerry Nelson
03/08/2010