What Could Possibly Motivate Communities To Stop The Contributor's Effort To Help End Homelessness in Middle Tennessee

The Contributor's 1st Issue

Back in 2007, when the core team of Tasha French, Will Connelly, Tom Wills, and I strategized to develop and produce a street newspaper, we had some very concrete ideas about exactly what we wanted this paper to do. All of us have worked in some capacity with the human beings in our communities who were homeless, poor, underprivileged,  marginalized, and/or ostracized.

We knew - firsthand, by work and by lived experience - that in order to be successful, we had to produce a quality, sourced, objective newspaper that:

• Smashed the stereotypes and raised awareness about the complex issues and circumstances that surround homelessness.
• Provided anyone a job, regardless of their situation or background.
• Was easy to get started, even when flat broke.
• Allowed individuals to work on their schedule, as much or as little as they wanted.
• Ensured customers had an opportunity to get "face to face" with someone experiencing homelessness.
• Proved when the majority of people are given an opportunity to work for their money, they would.

The Contributor did all of that, and it did it so well that within two years, this street paper had the largest circulation of any street paper in America, an honor it continues holding today (Current circulation is 120,000 per month and enjoys a vendor staff of over 400 people who sell The Contributor).

It had some other benefits as well:

• Vendors improved relationships with local businesses when it was discovered that Contributor vendors on the street corners reduced the number of panhandlers in the immediate area.
•  Provided enough income to 200 local individuals to either help them get housed or to keep housing they otherwise would have lost due to lack of funds.
• Adds approximately $1.4 million a year directly into local economy (120,000 pprs/mo x 12 months = $1,440,000) (many vendors receive "donations" far in excess of the $1 paper cost)
• Teaches a person to fish, rather than giving the person a fish.
• Adds work experience to an individual's resume. 
• Builds a work ethic and instills hope, dignity, self respect, appreciation for hard work, and honor for an honest day's toil.

Steven and Tasha w First Issue

After six years of operation, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that The Contributor has accomplished something in our community that no other organization, resource, or service provider ever could, or ever has, before.  And in the process, The Contributor has repeatedly kickstarted the conversations about homelessness and its causes. It's raised incredible awareness about the challenges, barriers, discrimination, attacks, and persecution of those whose situation used to immediately relegate them to the American version of India's "Untouchables." It's provided opportunity for work to a population that has very little opportunity elsewhere in our community.  Finally, it has brought a substantial source of income into local area businesses because just about every one of the people who spend the money they earn from paper sales spend it locally on goods, services and resources to survive.

So knowing all of this, and this information is all a matter of public record, one would think that, as communities scramble to address increasing homelessness in damned near every locality, those same communities would embrace The Contributor and what it brings to both their area and to those who want to choose an honorable, honest day's work selling the paper over any other option they might have while trying to exist on the street.

In almost every article one sees in the newspaper or online that deals with homelessness in some capacity, the comments section will almost always have comments that, with some variation, say essentially this: "If those homeless people would just pull themselves up by the bootstraps and get a job, they wouldn't be homeless any more."

What's odd about this is the seeming disconnect between that rhetoric, ignorant or not, and the reality for those who want to work.   When the opportunity for an actual job is provided to people experiencing homelessness here in Middle Tennessee, some of our communities have worked to block it by enacting ordinances prohibiting Contributor Vendors from plying their trade on the street corners.

Although the typical rationale provided in the court cases The Contributor has been forced to fight revolves primarily around "protecting the safety of the vendor and area drivers," (Officials have also used the "impeding traffic" argument as well) given the stellar safety record of Vendors and mobile customers over the life of paper sales for The Contributor, there's about a zero percent risk for vendors or drivers (contact Tasha at The Contributor directly for the latest statistics tasha@thecontributor.org).   There are numerous professions that bring far more risk to both the worker and the community than a Contributor vendor, so this argument doesn't appear to make a lot of sense.

It would be unfair to claim that perhaps officials in communities who've banned or are considering banning The Contributor vendors might be prejudiced against those experiencing homelessness. It would also be unfair to claim they were creating barriers to those who want to work, increasing oppression and marginalization of those who must endure homelessness, and/or are helping perpetuate the perception that people experiencing homelessness are lazy, want booze or drugs, and are not worth the effort to help.

Surely our public officials, here in the Volunteer State, the "Buckle of the Bible Belt," are far more compassionate and intelligent than to engage in these kinds of repressions.

And for the good Commissioners of Goodlettsville, this is an opportunity to compassionately support the efforts of those who want to work, help local businesses increase their revenues, and most importantly, allow a person to either maintain their current "bootstraps" or earn enough money to upgrade their set so they actually have an opportunity to pull themselves up and out of homelessness, poverty and hopelessness.

NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather Posted: Oct 21, 2013 6:00 PM CST Updated: Oct 21, 2013 6:38 PM CST

 

by Adam Ghassemi
GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. – Rob Ponder is a veteran who was homeless, but can now afford a place to live thanks to selling The Contributor.
"Thank you, ma'am. Have a very nice day," he told one customer Monday.
He, like many of his friends, sell copies near Rivergate Mall usually within eyeshot of the Goodlettsville city line, which could soon be off limits.
"Without it I'd be back in the street probably," Ponder said.
Tami McKenzie, who said she sells the paper in Goodlettsville twice a week, may now have to stick to the Madison side of the line. She worries this all comes from people forgetting what the paper is trying to do.
"I take that personally because that's repressing freedom of speech and freedom of the press and that's repressing my income," McKenzie said. "When people buy a paper people are investing in me and they're investing in me having a roof over my head. I think that Brentwood and maybe Goodlettsville have forgotten all that."

The Goodlettsville proposed ordinance looks like the original from Brentwood that has been upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals. It basically stops people from selling anything on public sidewalks, or even distracting drivers to pull over onto private property. No one would be allowed to impede traffic.
The Contributor's Executive Director Tasha French Lemley said by phone she met with Goodlettsville city leaders as well as a group of ministers Monday who hope the city will consider a lighter version of the ordinance like Franklin adopted, which allows vendors to sell to the passenger side of a vehicle without walking into the street.
Goodlettsville Commissioners first considered the idea last December, but it only came up again last month. Its second and final reading before a vote will be during Thursday night's Board of Commissioners meeting.
In September, Zach Young was the only commissioner to vote against it.
"When you look deeper at it. When you look at the circumstances surrounding and the effects it's going to have whether intended or unintended it's not something I want to be a part of," Young said.
School groups, private companies or anyone selling anything on a public sidewalk could also be impacted.
Email: aghassemi@newschannel5.com
Facebook: NC5_AdamGhassemi
Twitter: @NC5_AGhassemi

Related Stories: 

City of Brentwood Wins Legal Battle Against The Contributor
Franklin Leaders Decide To Seek Solution For "Contributor" Sales

 

 

Et Tu, Goodlettsville? Final Vote Next Week on Anti-Contributor Ordinance

Posted by Steven Hale on Thu, Oct 17, 2013 at 7:30 AM

Nashville Scene 

The city of Goodlettsville may be going the way of Brentwood when it comes to the sale of street newspapers like The Contributor.
Next week's City Commission meeting will include a public hearing, followed by a final vote, on an ordinance similar to one in the Nashville suburb that prohibited street sales, effectively stopping the efforts of The Contributor, which is sold on the street by largely homeless vendors. A U.S. Court of Appeals recently sided with Brentwood in a case between the city and the paper over the ordinance.
The ordinance under consideration in Goodlettsville (viewable in PDF form below) would prohibit using or occupying "any portion of the public right-of-way, including any public street, median, alley, or sidewalk" for the purpose of "selling or attempting to sell any goods, merchandise or other materials or any services."
It would also prohibit "soliciting or accepting a donation of money or any other item from the occupant of any vehicle" and stipulates that no person "by means of a sign or other kind of device of any kind...attempt to alert the driver or occupant of a motor vehicle that is on a street to any commercial activity."
If you're not yet conjuring a picture of the folks such an ordinance would directly affect, read on (emphasis ours).
The ordinance specifically states that it "shall not be construed as prohibiting the sale or distribution of newspapers, magazines, periodicals, handbills, flyers or similar materials, except that:
(1) Such activity shall be prohibited on any portion of any street within the City.
(2) Such materials shall not be handed to the occupant of any motor vehicle that is on a street, nor shall any action be taken which is intended or reasonably calculated to cause the vehicle occupant to hand anything to the person selling or distributing the materials.
The public hearing and final vote on the ordinance is Thursday, Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The ordinance passed on first reading by a vote of 4 to 1, with the lone dissenting vote coming from Commissioner Zach Young, who was elected to the Commission last year at the age of 20. He tells Pith that while proponents of the ordinance have cited safety concerns "this never became an issue until the homeless people came into Goodlettsville and started selling that paper."
"Regardless of safety, I can't go to sleep at night knowing that I made a vote that would directly affect someone's ability to put food in their mouth," he says. "There's also a little bit of a First Amendment issue there for some people. But especially for me, I can't sleep at night with a good conscience knowing that just that one vote would directly affect someone's ability to feed their kids or feed themselves or be able to get off the streets."