Street Spirit is a monthly newspaper based in the San Francisco Bay Area, focusing primarily on issues related to homelessness and poverty.
Established in 1995 by the American Friends Service Committee in Oakland, California, the newspaper aims to provide coverage of issues affecting homeless and low-income communities.
[1] Street Spirit was co-founded by Sally Hindman, a homeless activist and Quaker, and Terry Messman, who proposed the idea to the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in 1995.
Homeless and low-income youths aged 16-25 became involved in the paper's production, including vocational training in art, writing, marketing, social services, and entrepreneurship.
[4] On June 30, 2023, Street Spirit halted publication due to loss of funding from YSA, after the non-profit decided to scale back its offerings to focus on its own programming for homeless youth.
Through its reporting, Street Spirit discusses the realities of poverty and examines policy issues related to homelessness, including debates around supportive housing and law enforcement approaches.
[7] In 2019, journalist Rick Paulas donated 280 copies of his self-published novel "Eastern Span" to Street Spirit, and vendors were given the option to sell the book alongside the newspaper, with the freedom to set their own price and keep all proceeds.
[9] [6] [10] The Berkeley-born rapper Lil B, known for his prolific output and positive philosophy, released a song titled "Street Spirit Newspaper" in 2020, citing the publication as an integral part of Berkeley culture alongside landmarks like Telegraph Avenue and the Ashby Flea Market.