Kianna Drummond

StreetWise has impacted my life in so many ways. For starters, when I first came to StreetWise, I was living from house to house and in a shelter. Meeting a vendor who brought me to StreetWise changed my life in a way I didn’t see coming. They helped me find a place to stay, they helped me get clean and sometimes, to get new clothes. They gave me the opportunity to get and stay employed.

I sell magazines to pay my rent and to get food. Without StreetWise, I would still be homeless and panhandling on the streets. Now, people see me and help me more because they see I am doing something with myself besides standing on the corner with a salt can in my hand asking for a handout. Selling the magazine is more respectable than begging.

StreetWise also gave me a chance to put my very own words in the magazine to sell to the people I once used to hold a salt can up to beg. Now, the same people gladly purchase a magazine.

StreetWise helped me. It can do the same for you! Pass the word around.

Summer of GiveAShi*t Pop-Ups – 15 pop-ups between June-September helped push the GiveAShi*t support for StreetWise into triple digits. Even Mayor Lori Lightfoot stopped by our tent at Sundays on State.

August 22, 2022

StreetWise publishes its 30th Anniversary Edition.

June 2022

StreetWise Editor Suzanne Hanney wins eight first place awards for writing and for StreetWise the magazine itself, along with 2nds and 3rds, in the Illinois Woman's Press Association professional competition. Winning the most points in the IWPA's contest merited the prestigious Silver Feather Award.

June 27, 2022

StreetWise vendors get a raise, the first raise since 2008. The magazine cover price increased to $3 with vendors earning $1.85 + tips on the sale of each copy.