Our Story

The Menschen was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from a simple observation: people experiencing homelessness are frequently spoken about,
yet rarely given the opportunity to speak for themselves.

While conversations about homelessness often focus on statistics, services, or policy, far less attention is given to the individuals behind those conversations- the artists, parents, veterans, students, musicians, writers, dreamers, comedians, and neighbors whose identities extend far beyond their housing status.

The Menschen was created to provide a publication where those voices take center stage. By combining journalism with creative expression, the organization offers a
platform where lived experience is respected as expertise and every contributor retains ownership of their own story.

Today, The Menschen is launching as a digital nonprofit-initiative publication with a long-term vision of growing into a sustainable
street paper that benefits the broader homeless community.

Our talented writers are paid for their work. When we expand to the street model, any vendor with varying levels of displacement will have the
opportunity to purchase papers from The Menschen, and then sell them to the public for a profit that they get to keep.

Mission Statement

The Menschen exists to create meaningful income opportunities and amplify the voices of individuals experiencing homelessness through journalism, storytelling, and creative expression. By publishing work created by people with lived experience, we provide paid opportunities for writers while fostering understanding, reducing stigma, and encouraging meaningful conversations within our community. We pay contributors because we believe their work has value.

As we grow, The Menschen will adopt the proven street newspaper model, creating additional opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness to earn income by selling the newspaper directly to the public. This model expands our impact beyond writers alone, empowering more members of the homeless community with dignified opportunity.

We believe every person has inherent value, every story deserves to be heard, and every opportunity to earn with dignity has the power to change lives.

How It Started

The Menschen began when our founder saw a similar model being carried out in Nashville, TN- “The Contributor”. 

The Menschen is not just a publication about homelessness. More-so, its a publication by people experiencing homelessness.

Some contributors may choose to write about life on the streets. Others may write about childhood memories, politics, faith, sports, recipes, poetry, local events, relationships, music, or entirely fictional stories. The goal is not to define writers by homelessness, but to create space for them to share whatever matters to them as individuals.

Where We’re Headed

The Menschen is beginning with a digital publication that will feature original work created by writers experiencing homelessness throughout the Pittsburgh region.

As the organization grows, we plan to:

* Expand the number and diversity of contributors.

* Publish more frequent issues and broaden our readership.

* Introduce additional creative mediums, including artwork and photography.

* Build partnerships with shelters, community organizations, businesses, schools, and local media.

* Establish a printed street-paper that individuals experiencing homelessness can purchase at a reduced cost and resell to the public for their own profit,
creating another avenue for income and community engagement.

Our long-term goal is to build an organization that is financially sustainable while remaining true to its purpose: giving people a place where their voices matter.

Our Desired Impact

For our contributors, we hope to create confidence, pride, purpose, and a lasting creative outlet where they can express themselves freely
while developing writing and storytelling skills.

For our readers, we hope to replace assumptions with understanding by introducing them to individuals they might otherwise never meet.

For the community, we hope to build stronger connections between housed and unhoused neighbors by creating opportunities for empathy and mutual respect.

In time, our street-paper model will also provide an additional source of dignified income for members of the homeless community who wish to participate as vendors. 

Our success will not be measured solely by the number of newspapers we publish or distribute.
It will be measured by the number of voices that are heard, the confidence those voices gain, and the connections those stories create throughout our community.

Other Newspapers

Newspapers written and distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness is a proven model across the USA.

Examples of other papers with similar models include:

The Contributor (Tennessee) 

Street Sense Media (Washington, D.C.)

The Challenger (Texas)

The Journey (Texas)

 Street Roots (Oregon)

 Street Spirit (California)

 Street Sheet (California)

 Spare Change News (Massachusetts)

 The Bridge (Tennessee)

 Word on the Street (Maryland)

 Homeless Grapevine/Cleveland Street Chronicle (Ohio)

 Street News (New York).

Streetwise (Tennessee)

Denver Voice (Colorado)

Real Change (Washington)

Speak Up (Oklahoma)

The Curbside Chronicle (Oklahoma)

The Outsider (Georgia)

Cleveland Street Chronicle (Ohio)