Vida: bookworm, caretaker, mountaineer
By Julia Irwin on
In West Berkeley, not far from Fourth Street’s bright, bustling retail mecca, rows of old trailers hide in the shadows
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Homeless in Trump’s America
By Peter Y. Sussman on
A man who lives at taxpayer expense in luxurious public housing in Washington, D.C. has started a campaign against those who aren’t so lucky. There’s something that repels him about homeless people, and in two appearances in recent months, the president began to clarify what it is.
Private security guards: helpful or harmful?
By Helen Hill on
Private security guards are ubiquitous these days. They silently survey the public in stores, on sidewalks, in schools, on campuses,
Moving inside: Antidote to mental illness?
By Andy Pope on
Mental illness is often cited as one of the driving factors behind the growing homeless population in cities such as Berkeley and Oakland. A lack of resources for the mentally ill has led many people to the streets.
Belongings stolen in San Francisco sweeps
By TJ Johnston on
The project that is documenting the items—and identities—that are lost in encampment sweeps.
The homeless property yard at the San Francisco Department of Public Works saw an unusually busy Saturday afternoon on June 22—more activity than the workers anticipated.
East Bay Homelessness grows dramatically
By Benjamin Schneider on
The number of people experiencing homelessness in Oakland jumped a staggering 47 percent between 2017 and 2019, according to the latest Point-In-Time (PIT) homeless count.
Life, living, and sex work in Vienna, Austria
By Markus Schauta and Ruth Weismann on
Until a few years ago, the corner of Linzer Strasse and Wissgrillgasse was Anna’s workplace. It was there, just past the tobacconists, that she waited for customers.
“I would go to a cheap hotel with clients,” says this woman from Vienna, who has been a sex worker for 15 years. “The owners just took money for the room.” The client would pay.
50 Years After Stonewall: The most marginalized still face oppression
By Kathleen Hinkel on
At the heart of the story of the Stonewall Rebellion are homeless LGBTQ youth, transgender people of color and a threatened place of refuge: a gay bar that welcomed the outcasts of society. The Stonewall Inn was a community center of sorts for drag queens and queer youth rendered homeless by familial or societal rejection. Admission at the Stonewall Inn was not expensive and homeless youth could easily scrounge up their admission through panhandling. Once they were in, they could socialize and have a sanctuary for the night.
What vendors eat in Oklahoma City
By Nathan Poppe on
Helping readers get to know our vendors is a big motivator for putting together street papers. For this story, Oklahoma
A look inside a women’s shelter in Nuremberg, Germany
By Alisa Müller on
In the small kitchen next to the wall is a square, plastic-topped table with a bunch of red and white roses. A pack of cocoa, one of noodles, and some fruit, are on the wooden shelves. It looks like a perfectly normal flat-share apart from one thing: there’s a sticker with ‘Room 9’ on the edge of the shelf on the left and ‘Room 10’ on the edge of the one on the right.
Tokuchika Nishi: Dancer and street vendor in Tokyo
By Mariko Kazuki on
Tokukicha Nishi, 39, has a purposeful gaze and long hair that he has been growing out since his beloved cat passed away. He became a Big Issue Japan vendor in July 2017. Monday through Friday, Mr. Nishi sells papers from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in front of the ‘Konaka The Flag’ store, near JR Shimbashi Station’s Ginza Exit and from 8 to 10pm in front of the bus terminal at JR Shinjuku Station’s South Exit.
Last rights for the unhoused in Canada
By Simon Cheung on
Eventually, JP sat down on a chair, anaemic and lopsided. She was dying—had been for a while now.
She was gripped by intense pain, but wouldn’t allow the nearby palliative team to touch her. JP’s neglected breast cancer had manifested into a festering tumor, dripping fetid discharge.