Homeless Paper Makes Debut

A monthly newspaper that covers issues of homelessness in Nashville hits the streets tomorrow morning.

The Contributor is modeled after similar papers in Washington D.C. and New York City. The articles come partly from homeless advocates and from the homeless themselves.

Freelance journalist Tasha French spearheaded the project. On her way to pick up the first 5-thousand copies she says she’s nervous to see if the business model will work. Homeless individuals buy the paper for a quarter and sell them for a dollar.

“Homeless people make plenty of money on the streets panhandling. I think if people are willing to give to a panhandler, I think they’ll be as willing if not more willing to give to someone who actually has an informative product to sell.”

Homeless people who contribute articles to the paper receive 15 copies to sell themselves. Each salesman has to go through an orientation process before manning a street corner.

French says the first edition of The Contributor includes 16 pages of journalistic articles and editorials. She says the paper’s steering committee chose not to run several angry submissions from homeless individuals.

The number of by-lines from homeless and non-homeless in the issue is about equal. French says even if the paper doesn’t sell out on the first go-round, it has enough funding through donations to produce a second edition next month.