Vendor wishes: “I wish for more accommodation for homeless women with a dog”

A unique Housing First effort in Düsseldorf combines art, newspapers and advocacy to pair the unhoused with apartments. The brainchild of the city’s street paper fiftyfifty, revenues from sales of works by famous artists are used to buy apartments for those who need them most.

Perceptions of people on the streets with pets are often uncaring and narrow-minded. Bodo vendors Ralf and Mario, who sell the street paper in the German city of Bochum, are prime examples of the mental health and social benefits of having a pet on the streets can be. Their dogs – Maja, Tyson and Cassey – are their pride and joys.

Everyone who is a part of the global street paper network knows what a street paper is – that extends to the staff that put each publication together and those who buy them. But the people who truly know what a street paper is – what it means – are those who sell them. Here, a collection of street paper vendors – from Brazil to Finland – tell us, in their own words, what a street paper is, personally to them.

World-renowned contemporary art exhibition documenta is celebrating its 15th instalment next year in the German city of Kassel. In line with its leading artists’ values, the line-up for the event was exclusively revealed by street paper Asphalt in nearby Hanover, who will act as a media partner for the exhibition.

With Covid vaccines being rolled out differently across the world, that means marginalised and vulnerable communities in different parts of the world are receiving immunisation at different rates. But it does mean some good news: street paper vendors are beginning to receive the jab, and with the world opening up again, that’s more than welcome.

13 German street papers, including INSP members, have banded together to demand that the country’s state and city officials use empty hotels to house those experiencing homelessness amid ongoing restrictions and “stay at home” pleas due to the coronavirus. A petition laying out their concerns has already reached over 2,500 signatures.

In the St Georg district of Hamburg, a new complex is being built to house street paper Hinz&Kunzt’s publishing and social work enterprises, as well as 24 of its vendors. The editorial team visited the building site shortly before the topping-out ceremony – a celebration to mark a milestone in its construction.

After the coronavirus lockdown eased, Hinz&Kunzt vendors were looking forward to the restart, but also feeling slightly uneasy. They’ll need help – from Hinz&Kunzt, but also from the people working in the shops outside which they have their pitches. The Hamburg street paper accompanied vendor Thomas to his pitch.

With lockdown restrictions being pulled back in some areas, and the new normal of social distancing takes form, street paper vendors are beginning to return to the pitches they have been absent from as the COVID-19 pandemic has spread. INSP spoke to some of the publications who have begun street selling again about how they prepared their vendors and how they have managed.

During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Hamburg-based street paper Hinz&Kunzt asked its vendors how severely they have been impacted by its effects.

The coronavirus pandemic has emptied Hamburg Airport. For those working for ‘Spende Dein Pfand’, a collaboration between the Hamburg street paper Hinz&Kunzt, Hamburg Airport and the Green Dot, that means reduced working hours. The street paper talked to employee Uwe Tröger about how he’s coping.

The Big Issue took stock of how coronavirus is affecting the world’s homeless community, providing another update on just how severely the spread of the virus is impacting street papers and the people for which they provide an income.

Street paper vendors are often defined by their living situation, but as INSP and street papers are at constant pains to point out, they are much more than just homeless. Hinz&Kunzt’s Golem and Jörg connect with the catharsis of punk rock.

The Big Issue has been reaching out to vendors across the street paper network to get the inside scoop on the cities they know best. This instalment features Draussenseiter vendor Lothar talking about Cologne in Germany.

To mark the end of INSP’s 25th anniversary year, we have been asking vendors across the street paper network to write a letter to their 25-year-old self. Trott-war vendors came out in their numbers to contribute to this instalment of the #VendorLetters series.

To mark the end of INSP’s 25th anniversary year, we have been asking vendors across the street paper network to write a letter to their 25-year-old self. Straßenkreuzer vendor Steve reckons his 25-year-old self would be proud of the person he has become.