The Street Newspaper is One of the Many Legacies of Long Time NEOCH Director

By Michael McGraw

One of Brian Davis’ major contributions while heading up NEOCH was bringing the street newspaper movement to Cleveland in the form first of the Homeless Grapevine and then its successor the current Street Chronicle.

The basic model of street newspapers is that they are generally to give voice to those without houses.  Most papers have volunteers assist with writing articles.  The other purpose for the street papers is to provide income to people struggling with their housing.  They are typically sold on the sidewalks and the vendors get to keep all profits. There are street newspapers in 30 U.S. Cities as well as in Mexico City, and many Canadian and European cities.

Most accounts of the history of the street newspaper movement credit its genesis to Wendy Oxenhorn, who helped launch New York City’s Street News around 1989.  The Street News experienced a wave of public interest in the first few years after its launch, but folded after what sounds like some clashes between Oxenhorn and others over its precise direction.  Though NYC does not have a street paper right now, the Street News clearly helped inspire a wave of founding street papers during the 1990s, including our Homeless Grapevine.

[Editor’s Note: San Francisco probably had the first newspaper in the United States, but New York City received the most publicity.  Angelo Anderson, who worked with others in Cleveland to start the paper has stated that he was inspired by the paper in NYC. ]

Eric Falquero, editor-in-chief of the excellent Street Sense of Washington, D.C., told me that street papers stayed strong and even growing in some of the years that print daily papers were experiencing startling declines in circulation as digital media was growing most rapidly. Falquero and others, such as Jori Epstein who wrote a senior project on street papers for the University of Texas at Austin, indicate that this may well be explained by street papers’ dual role as both journalism and as a social-service project, giving people an altruistic reason to buy the street paper that other publications cannot claim from most consumers.

The Street Chronicle gives  a voice to people with homelessness experience who contribute to it; it gives a meaningful and dignified employment opportunity to its vendors; and its helps inform the perspective of its thousands of readers who come from all walks of life, economic statuses and political leanings. The Board of NEOCH has included continuing the publication of the paper as a prominent part of its strategic plan going forward, and several of us have been in contact regarding filling Brian’s sizable shoes with respect to roles with the publication process. We will keep on top of changing trends; for example, Eric Falquero from the D.C. paper has offered to keep us advised of a cashless payment method that the Vancouver street paper is willing to make available to street publications in other cities. It’s a legacy of Brian’s leadership that we plan to keep moving forward in Northeast Ohio.

Glad to Be Selling the Paper and Having Known Brian

by Tammy

I’ve been a vendor of the Street Chronicle for about 2 ½ years. “Chatty Cathy”, someone I know from my neighborhood was a vendor at the time, and she approached me about selling the Street Chronicle.

I decided to sell the paper because I wanted to get the news out about homeless people. I’ve been homeless, myself, so I thought that this would be a good opportunity to give back.

The training was okay, the money used to be pretty good, but since the parking lot at The West Side Market has been revamped, the money is not as good as it used to be. I love working with people and making them smile, and selling the Chronicle at the Market has given me an opportunity to do that.

One unexpected bonus: a copy of a photo taken of me selling the Chronicle was on display in an art gallery and was displayed at University Hospitals in the last year.

Like me, Brian Davis has a heart of gold and has worked hard to improve the lives of people who are homeless. He can be comical at times, and makes me laugh, but he is very serious when it comes to the plight of homeless people. It has been a blessing to work with Brian Davis and he will truly be missed.

I Am Grateful that Brian and the Paper Gave Me a Wake Up Call

By Mike Vorhees

I have known Brian Davis since 2000 and Brian tries to help everyone.  He is a very compassionate and caring person.  He is a truthful person and he will tell you how it is if you are messing up. 

I remember Brian when he was a bartender at BW3.  Some of the guys I knew who were homeless were selling the Homeless Grapevine newspaper and they told me to go to NEOCH to sign up for selling the paper.  Brian Davis signed me up to be a vendor for the paper in the early 2000s.  Brian and I had a good relationship.  I remember one time Brian gave me 10 papers when I had no money and I had to pay him back.  He was caring and understanding to the fact that I needed to make some money.  He assigned me to be the Homeless Grapevine representative for the paper.  I helped the vendors if they had a problem with scheduling and shifts. 

One day I was drunk behind the market and the vendors from the market called Brian and told on me.  I came in and Brian told me that I could not sell the paper until I was sober for 6 months.  I was mad and I tried to get sober but I did not stay sober.  I stopped selling the paper when I was drinking.    I am very happy that Brian banned me from selling the paper when I was drunk behind the market.  Brian’s banning me made me realize I wasn’t right and that I shouldn’t be behind the market or anywhere else selling the paper drunk.  I started realizing I had made a big mistake and that I was breaking the rules and jeopardizing my ability to make an income.  Brian gave me a good wake-up call and plenty of chances. Today I am completely sober.   I am very appreciative of Brian Davis.

I was very sad to hear that Brian was leaving his position at NEOCH.  He did a great job of being the Executive Director at NEOCH.  He did a lot for homeless individuals in the City of Cleveland.  He tried to be there for them when people would bother them.  He stood up for their rights.  He will be missed a lot.