International Network of Street Papers secures funds to launch new journalistic training programme aimed at people who have experienced homelessness and poverty

INSP seeks participants to Change the Narrative on Homelessness

A lease agreement with the city of Sacramento allowed encampment residents to stay indefinitely while they sought permanent housing. When the agreement fell apart, the residents, many of whom are disabled, say that they were left without an accessible place to go.

Sacramento encampment residents thought they’d found stability. Why did their lease fall apart?

The International Network of Street Papers (INSP) has spoken out about the need to “tackle public perceptions about what its like to be homeless and in poverty”, as part of the solution to the UK’s growing poverty crisis. 

INSP’s comments are in response to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s UK Poverty report, revealing for the first time how many thousands of pounds are needed by families to escape poverty, and how that has got worse over time. 

INSP responds to UK Poverty report

Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce - designed by Studio Texture

INSP partners with Royal Society of the Arts (RSA) to provoke discussion on how people experiencing homelessness and poverty are represented in the media. 


Changing the narrative on homelessness and poverty 

A move away from housing first solutions to homelessness. Further criminalization of sleeping outdoors. Cuts to housing programs. These are some of the changes advocates and people experiencing homelessness worry could be on the horizon as President Donald Trump moves back into the White House, backed by a Republican-controlled Congress.

What the Trump administration means for Americans experiencing homelessness

Generally speaking, the less someone earns, the more government support they receive. But these programs also come with income restrictions, which cut residents off from benefits as their salaries rise. Street Sense Media reports from the ground in the District of Columbia, US.


How the “benefits cliff” traps people in poverty

"Welcome to my home," a man says. I think that he means that I should feel welcome in Brussels, the capital of the European Union, but it then becomes clear to me that Parliament is actually his residence.

Homeless on the doorstep of EU

Micro Rainbow is a UK-based social enterprise that provides safe housing, employability and care services for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. INSP sat down with CEO Sebastian Rocca to investigate.



In Conversation with Sebastian Rocca: Micro Rainbow

Hannes Lindgren Eriksen is 28 years old and works as a Faktum vendor in Gothenburg, Sweden. His pitch is at Stenpiren, a central travel hub on the banks of the Göta River where people hop on and off buses, trams and ferries as they travel around the city, archipelago and beyond. It’s a perfect spot for him: he can indulge his love of trains, trams and ferries while working as a vendor and delighting in connecting with his network of customers.

Faktum vendor Hannes Lindgren Eriksen on growing up with autism

In Kirchdorf-Süd, a project developer has built micro-apartments for people in need of housing. Why doesn’t this happen more often?


25 square metres of freedom: inside Germany’s micro-apartments

In her apartment, MaryLou cooks meatloaf for dinner, with her nephew nearby in the living room to monitor her. Photo: Isabel Guzman

Mark Gaskin, 61, lives in a tent trailer down the street from his 82-year-old aunt’s apartment, and cares for her daily, giving up his own comfort to protect her.


Familial love transcends homelessness

Stefan Gogov, 47, started selling Serbian street paper Liceulice four years ago when he returned to his mother’s native country, Serbia, after growing up in France. He enjoys keeping busy and appreciates that his life is no longer monotonous.

Meet Liceulice vendor Stefan Gogov

Igboanugo describes the feeling he has had since his arrival in St. Gilgen as inner peace. Photo by Siegrid Cain

By a twist of fate, Apropos vendor Igboanugo Anyichukwu ended up in the Salzkammergut region of Austria and found a new home at Lake Wolfgang. He talks about arriving and putting down roots.

Apropos vendor Igboanugo Anyichukwu: “I feel like I’m part of this community”

Follow Chiu-yen’s journey from bundling magazines to selling them.

Meet Kang Chiu-yen, Big Issue Taiwan vendor at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Taipei Bridge Station

“You will meet a lady who sells The Big Issue. At first, you will think this is a stupid idea, standing out there trying to sell the magazine. But you give it a go, and to tell you the truth, it will end up being the best decision you will make.”


Meet Ruth, The Big Issue Australia vendor in Adelaide

An artist from the Academy of the Street at work. Photo: Katharina Mayer

Street paper fiftyfifty and art professor Katharina Mayer founded the Academy of the Street with people experiencing homelessness. Mayer, an important contemporary photographer, has repeatedly photographed people experiencing homelessness in work, countering the often-negative perception of people experiencing poverty and exclusion with portraits that emphasise the dignity of marginalised communities.

“Pictures are my soul”: inside the Academy of the Street

Psychiatrist Ingo Schäfer heads the Centre for Traumatised Refugees at UKE, the university hospital in Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. He criticises the migration debate for causing many people’s mental health issues to worsen. 


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