Resilience & Reunion

Gathering at the Global Street Paper Summit

When I told people I was traveling to Milan for a conference, I received some surprised looks. I work for a street paper, after all, and why would someone working with homeless people in Chicago need to travel to Italy for work? What most people don’t realize is that though StreetWise is unique, there is a global street paper network working together behind the scenes.

Street papers are magazines or newspapers sold by people experiencing poverty, homelessness or other forms of marginalization. They give people an immediate, dignified and legitimate way to earn money while seeking to address the causes of poverty through journalism and advocacy. As organizations, street papers are independent entities: non-profit organizations or social enterprises that reinvest their profits into services to support people in need. There are 92 street papers in 35 countries in 25 languages.

Once a year, street paper staff come together for The Global Street Paper Summit to discuss shared challenges, celebrate successes and think about the future of our global movement. The Summit provides an opportunity to commune, to learn, and at times, to commiserate. The latest conference took place in the Italian city of Milan in collaboration with the local street paper Scarp de' tenis in September. The 2022 Summit was a particularly special one as it was the first opportunity for street papers to come together in person since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous Summit having been held in Hannover in 2019. 120 people attended the Milan event, representing 48 street papers from 24 different countries.

Fitting with these times, the summit centered on the themes of resilience and reunion. We shared stories about how we supported vendors and how our street papers managed through the global pandemic and times of civil unrest and injustice. We shared new ideas, from podcasts to cover stories, to increasing digital content and vendor income. We challenged each other to think more deeply about diversity, equity and inclusion. We learned from experts regarding the refugee crisis, climate change, and misinformation: all affecting street paper work.

We shared a meal and learned about the work of the Refettorio Ambrosiano, where multi-Michelin star awarded chef Massimo Bottura created a community kitchen that provides more than just a meal. Over a bowl of gazpacho we heard about how the Refettorio brings together the worlds of haute cuisine, art, design and solidarity. This zero-waste kitchen not only serves world class food to those in need, it acts as training center for new chefs, including our chef for the evening; she had been a refugee and was beginning her new career. In the presence of art and beauty, and excellent food, people feel dignified.

We ended the summit with a video presentation honoring the vendors and staff who had passed away since the last summit in 2019. The pandemic took a toll. Jean from Slovenia shared a story about a vendor who had lived on a park bench in the city’s main square for years and who had touched many lives in the community. Even after he had been offered housing, he continued to return to his bench, his home, where he felt most comfortable. After he contracted COVID and passed away, his street paper, Kings of the Street, reached out to the city to request a plaque be installed on his bench to memorialize him. This October on World Homelessness Day, the plaque was unveiled reading, “On this bench Anton Pugelj – Tonček survived 30 years of cardboard and concrete and became one of the most recognized kings in Ljubljana. Legend, we hope you are travelling home. - Kings of the Street.” Street papers offer a way for people from all walks of life to embrace our shared humanity, in life and in death, and can act as a thread across countries and cultures.

Just as the Refettorio is a place to gather with dignity, so are our street papers themselves, and so was the Global Street Paper Summit. Street papers have faced many challenges over the past few years, but just like our vendors, and because of the work of our vendors, street papers are resilient. As we continue to innovate and remain resilient in our work addressing homelessness and poverty, one main takeaway came from my Norwegian colleague, Viggo Mastad, who ended his presentation on managing change and challenge by saying, “There are many questions, but the answer is always the same: Whatever benefits the vendor.” Until we gather again, each of the 92 street papers across the globe will be working towards this mission.