ABSTRACT
Streetwise is a lively weekly newspaper published and sold largely by homeless Americans living in Chicago. This interesting entrepreneurial idea provides employment to needy citizens while creating a product that invites public consideration of issues that often concern the homeless and are often overlooked by the commercial media. Tyrone Moore is a Streetwise vendor who works a busy intersection near DePaul. As my office is near this corner, I regularly run into him. To my mind, he is amiable, hardworking, and a pretty crafty businessman. Others agree. In fact, the DePaul student newspaper once ran a sympathetic story featuring Tyrone. But it is also clear that others see him differently. As he plies his wares, a few people are openly hostile. I once heard a well dressed twenty-something mutter “Get a job” as he passed Tyrone, who ironically was busily working at the time. Most people merely seem uncomfortable and mildly annoyed by his presence. Usually people do not return his cheery greetings, and many try to avoid eye contact altogether.
