After gut-wrenching testimony from StreetWise vendors and their children, Chicago aldermen vowed Wednesday to save the publication that has helped homeless residents turn their lives around.So is the City Council going to raise $75K for Streetwise or are they expected to issue a "bailout"?
Patricia Tillman, a homeless woman who used to ride the CTA back and forth from 95th Street to Howard for shelter, told an inspiring story of determination and renewal that nearly moved aldermen to tears.
“I started selling the paper. It taught me how to manage my money because if I didn’t manage it the right way, I couldn’t buy the papers to sell the next day,” Tillman told the City Council’s Human Relations Committee.
“StreetWise is like a life support system for me. … I haven’t been homeless for 15 years because of StreetWise. It helps me to do a lot of things for my children that kids in our neighborhood wouldn’t ordinarily be able to do.”
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The nonprofit StreetWise Inc. said this week it would be forced to close its doors in a few months unless its gets $75,000 in donations.
Contrary to industry trends, advertising is up since StreetWise made the change from a newspaper to a glossy magazine in November. But, charitable support has declined because of the prolonged recession. Grants comprise roughly half the organization’s annual $500,000 budget.
Dispatches from Chicago's south side.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Aldermen vow to save StreetWise
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