We are sitting on a gold mine.
For a decade, Speak Up published a printed magazine that gave voice to people facing homelessness. That means hundreds of essays from dozens of writers. Their work is honest, raw, full of hard-fought wisdom.
Like the writers themselves, the published pieces are full of surprises.
Since the beginning, I’ve known that this work is too valuable to let slip into the dustbin of memory.
In 2020, we launched on Substack and began the journey of moving from print to digital. It was a good start. But while Substack is a unique publishing platform, it does better with forward directional content: post it, share it, engage, forgive it, and move on to whatever is next. It isn’t a great tool for sharing timeless treasure troves.
Looking at the stats, I can see that some of the richest work has barely been seen. In fact, you might visit our Substack publishing home on the web, browse around, and never stumble across some of this incredible work:
One Week on the Streets
A daily journal of homelessness from Vince. Winner of the International Network of Street Newspapers Award for Best Vendor Writing.
Unmentionables
Renee writes on the physical and emotional hazards of being female and on the streets.
The Outside People (We Are Not Victims)
Bill’s eloquent plea for those facing homelessness to be seen through a different lens.
I’m Not Bitter, I’m Better
Despite having experienced a full measure of tragedy, pain, and suffering, Ava is full of hope.
In the coming weeks and months we are going to be looking for new ways to share this rich body of writing. At the very least, it’ll mean some emails like this one—links to great stuff right in your inbox.
I’d love to hear from you if you have suggestions of platforms or examples of great online archives that are easy to explore.
Speak Up runs on your donations. Please consider a gift today.