RHD’s One Step Away, Philly’s first street newspaper, expands to Wilmington, Del.
posted Wed, Dec 22, 2010
One Step Away, the first street newspaper in Philadelphia history, is expanding to Wilmington, Del., giving that city's homeless a voice on issues of shelter and affordable housing. One Step Away will debut in Wilmington Jan. 3, rolling out distribution from Connections Homeless Outreach Center.
One Step Away is a monthly tabloid produced and distributed by men and women without jobs or permanent shelter. Resources for Human Development, a national nobprofit human services organization with headquarters in Philadelphia and with programs in Delaware, publishes the street newspaper. The Addictions Coalition of Delaware is sponsoring One Step Away's distribution at Conections.
"Connections is committed to providing comprehensive solutions to homelessness that include housing and job training,’’ said Darius Brown, director of public affairs at Connections. “These services make rehabilitation possible and set our consumers on a path to recovery.”
All One Step Away street vendors sign an agreement to abide by a code of appropriate conduct. They pay ACD 25 cents to offset the printing cost of papers that they then offer to the public for $1 donations, keeping the difference. Beginning Jan. 3, homeless men and women working to break the cycle of homelessness can get One Step Away at Connections Homeless Outreach Center, 500 W. Eighth St., in Wilmington.
“Homelessness and affordable housing have always been important issues to RHD,’’ said Bob Fishman, CEO and founder of Resources for Human Development. “We’re thrilled to help provide this opportunity for homeless men and women to productively earn money and attain permanent housing, while also elevating the plight of homelessness.”
There are 26 street newspapers across the country, according to the North American Street Newspaper Association, but One Step Away remains the only one in which the content is produced almost entirely by the men, women and children in homeless shelters.
Street newspapers historically have provided a much-needed means of income for the most vulnerable members of society. They have also been valuable means of expression for stories, artwork and poetry. The name One Step Away was chosen by the homeless men and women who make up the paper’s editorial board. The name has a dual meaning: Many people are one step away from homelessness, and the homeless men and women producing this newspaper are one step away from getting off the street.
“Each newspaper people buy helps a lot of us get one step closer to independence,’’ said Rosa Bermudez, an OSA editorial board member and a former resident at Woodstock Family Center who has since attained housing.
John Lozier, executive director of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, called street papers like One Step Away "a really important phenomenon."
"It provides an expressive outlet for people who are often ignored," Lozier told the Associated Press in a story on One Step Away, adding it can also be a means of survival. "People very legitimately make enough money to find shelter some nights."
Resources for Human Development first launched One Step Away in Philadelphia Dec, 15, 2009.
