Nearly 10,000 vendors in 34 countries sell street papers, including Street Roots. Feb. 4-10 is the International Network of Street Papers’ Vendor Week (#VendorWeek), celebrating vendors’ work in the street paper movement. Here are just a few of their stories.
Jackie Turner
Street Sense Media | Washington, D.C.
Jackie Turner is an artist and Street Sense Media vendor whose experience of homelessness has changed her world view. She is acutely aware of the fact that homelessness happens for a range of reasons and that being homeless can be a depressing and hopeless experience. For Jackie, learning to love herself and appreciating the beauty around her has helped her to feel a powerful sense of connection to the world.
“I no longer look at people on the street as being bums or hopeless.
“I know they are homeless because of a lot of reasons. Some don’t know how to help themselves or are unable to cope with an injury, a mental illness or other issues. People experiencing homelessness aren’t bums – they are just people with problems.
“And those problems can be depressing. Homelessness can feel hopeless. We need to help each other to remember that we are all beautiful. It is important to love yourself and to learn to love the world.
“If you look around, there is a lot of beauty in this world. The trees, the flowers, water flowing, a baby being born and learning. These beautiful things look good, smell good and give you an uplifted feeling. There are so many wonderful things about this world.
“When you think like this, you know you are a work of beauty because you are a part of this world, because you are one of God’s wonders.”
Courtesy of Street Sense / INSP.ngo
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