History
Street Sense was founded in August 2003 after two volunteers, Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson, approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions about starting a street newspaper in Washington, D.C.
After bringing together a core of dedicated volunteers and vendors, Street Sense published its first issue in November 2003 with a print run of 5,000 copies. The paper has published consistently on a monthly and now biweekly basis and has greatly expanded its circulation and vendor network. It now sells nearly 16,000 papers every two weeks.
Below is a timeline of the key events in Street Sense history. For a review of the first five years of Street Sense check out our Fifth Anniversary Insert
2003
August- Planning began for the DC street newspaper
November– First issue was printed
2004
March – Pages per issue increased from 16 to 20
October– Street Sense incorporated and moved into its own office
2005
March– Street Sense received nonprofit status
May– Street Sense had its first fundraiser: Street Sense Benefit Concert
October 2005 – A full board of directors was established
November 2005 – The newspaper layout was redesigned and the logo changed
November 2005 – An executive director was hired
2006
June– First readers’ survey was conducted
June– First two official grants were received
September– The first silent auction fundraiser was held
August– Vendor training was revamped and a vendor training video was produced
November– A vendor manager was hired
2007
January – A vendor paper tracking system was implemented
February – Street Sense began publishing two issues a month
March – Editor-in-chief was hired
May – Street Sense published its first book: “Street Verses”
November – Street Sense Writers’ Group was established
November – Biweekly publishing began
2008
February – First strategic plan was created
June – Held first David Pike Excellence in Journalism Awards Ceremony
June – Hosted the Homeless USA Cup
November – The layout of the paper was redesigned to be like a magazine front |
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