Groundcover News

Founded in 2010 in Ann Arbor, Groundcover News publishes a monthly journal of community news, stories on topics of homelessness and poverty, and items of general interest. Papers are sold on the streets of Washtenaw County throughout the month by housing insecure community members who operate as micro entrepreneurs. Groundcover News employs folks that are currently or have recently experienced housing insecurity. This includes people who have experienced homelessness, risk of eviction, "couch surfing", or transitional housing. After training, vendors purchase the newspaper for 25 cents from the Groundcover Organization, and then sell them for a suggested donation price of $1. In addition to the income opportunities, vendors are able to develop skills and capacities that can be translated to other personal and professional goals. Many of the stories, articles, poetry, and artwork in the pages of Groundcover News are produced by the same folks who sell the papers. Groundcover News is a member of the International Network of Street Papers (INSP), which connects street paper organizations around the world. There are more than 50 newspapers of this kind in North America alone.