MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- A local newspaper spreads more than news by providing a creative outlet and employment for members of the homeless community.
The Contributor was created to help provide opportunities for economic advancement and restore homeless individuals’ sense of self. The newspaper refers to the distributors of the papers as vendors versus dwelling on their economic/housing status.
The vendors are able to profit from each newspaper they sell. It has been reported that vendors get into housing after about three months of selling papers.
Housing is not the only goal for some vendors. One vendor needed batteries for her hearing aid. Another needed his truck fixed. Another needed assistance paying for his medicine.
The Contributor is more than a newspaper to its vendors. It is hope.