North American Street Newspaper Association
Encyclopedia
The North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) is an organization of street newspaper
s papers that provide employment opportunities, community, and a voice to homeless and other economically vulnerable people. it has 28 members in the United States and Canada with a total monthly circulation of about 255,000 copies. NASNA holds an annual conference and runs the Street News Service
(SNS) together with AlterNet
to share articles.
and Real Change
as well as the National Coalition for the Homeless. It was formally founded in September 1997 when 37 street newspapers met at the second conference in Seattle. In 2006 NASNA had 47 member newspapers. In early 2009, the North American Street Newspaper Association hired an Executive Director for the first time.
Street newspaper
Street newspapers are newspapers or magazines sold by homeless or poor individuals and produced mainly to support these populations. Most such newspapers primarily provide coverage about homelessness and poverty-related issues, and seek to strengthen social networks within homeless communities...
s papers that provide employment opportunities, community, and a voice to homeless and other economically vulnerable people. it has 28 members in the United States and Canada with a total monthly circulation of about 255,000 copies. NASNA holds an annual conference and runs the Street News Service
Street News Service
Street News Service is a news agency for street newspapers run by the International Network of Street Papers . It carries articles, essays and news from newspapers sold and sometimes written by homeless and poor people. It helps street papers worldwide to share stories with each other with other...
(SNS) together with AlterNet
AlterNet
AlterNet, a project of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, is a progressive/liberal activist news service. Launched in 1998, AlterNet now claims a readership of over 3 million visitors per month .AlterNet publishes original content as well as journalism from a wide variety of other sources...
to share articles.
History
The seed to start NASNA was planted in August 1996 at the first North American Street Newspaper Summit in Chicago, sponsored by papers StreetWiseStreetWise
StreetWise is a street newspaper sold by people without homes or those at-risk for homelessness in Chicago. Topics covered in the paper vary depending on what is happening in Chicago at the time...
and Real Change
Real Change
Real Change is a weekly street newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is sold by the poor, many of whom are homeless, providing them an alternative to panhandling. It is written and produced, however, by professional staff, and covers mainstream news as well as homelessness issues...
as well as the National Coalition for the Homeless. It was formally founded in September 1997 when 37 street newspapers met at the second conference in Seattle. In 2006 NASNA had 47 member newspapers. In early 2009, the North American Street Newspaper Association hired an Executive Director for the first time.