Paper about homeless increases circulation

The paper features the homeless and low-income families.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Though many newspapers are thinner and losing ads and subscribers to the Internet, one in Cincinnati that deals with homeless issues is getting fatter.

Circulation is up 85 percent from a year ago, and the publisher, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, is thinking about increasing the number of issues each year.

Maybe that’s because of the likes of U.S. District Court Judge S. Arthur Spiegel.

“I always try to buy a copy,” said Spiegel, 87, a longtime jurist and civil rights activist. “It helps me get in touch with what’s going on in the community.”

The publication, Streetvibes, has increased its press run twice this year. The March and April editions sold out, according to Georgine Getty, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.

“In this time of wide discussion in Cincinnati about poverty issues, homelessness, affordable housing and living wage jobs, we are pleased to see that people are turning to Streetvibes for a perspective on these issues that they can’t get from other publications,” Getty said.

The Homeless Coalition had been printing 5,000 copies a month but increased that to 6,000 for the April edition and to 7,000 for the May edition, and Getty said some thought is being given to publishing every three weeks.

Streetvibes is the coalition’s most visible program. It features stories about the homeless and low-income families, their struggles and successes, urban life and social justice.

Most of Streetvibes’ stories and photos are done by volunteer or retired news people, said the paper’s new editor, Greg Flannery, who hopes to focus the paper “on what Streetvibes does best” with tighter editing and increasing the number of local stories.

Vendors sell Streetvibes for $1, keeping 75 cents from each copy. The other quarter goes for printing costs.

“We owe a lot to the tenacity of the vendors,” Getty said. “They are out there no matter what the weather, selling papers and spreading the word about poverty. We are also very grateful for the wonderful relationships they have built with their loyal customers.”

Like Spiegel.

“Our vendors are on a first-name basis with a lot of decision makers in the city,” Getty said.

One of the most colorful vendors is Cleo Wombles, who wears a clown nose and wig as he sells at his regular street corner downtown.

“If you can make people laugh, they’ll buy from you,” he said.

Streetvibes has about 25 to 30 vendors at any given time, and they sell an average of 100 to 200 copies a month, Getty said.

“It’s helped a lot of people get stabilized and get off the streets,” she said. “We lose our best vendors that way.”

Streetvibes had been edited by a former homeless man who died in December, Getty said. It’s now in the hands of Flannery, a former news editor at Cincinnati’s CityBeat newspaper.

“He’s taking it in a new direction, and it’s definitely more professional,” said Getty, who expects Streetvibes to become even more vital as it increases local content from professional writers.