The Street Spirit

Street Spirit is a monthly publication sold by individuals experiencing homelessness in Berkeley and Oakland. This newspaper is created by and for those without homes, along with their supporters. We focus on in-depth reporting about the political issues and policies affecting our community, and we also feature personal essays, profiles, and poetry. Our goal is to offer economic opportunities to our homeless neighbors while giving them a space to tell their own stories.

Hyperlocal

English

Newspaper

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#3491770

United States

#1107465

Law and Government/Law and Government

#2144

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

Two decades of writing for Bay Area street newspapers

2 months ago | thestreetspirit.org | Jack Bragen |Bradley M. Penner

When I was young, in my twenties, I took pride in being able to get letters to the editor published. For a young adult with severe psychiatric illness, a letter to the editor in a paper is pretty good. But I wanted more. I really wanted to become a published writer. Periodically, I would submit stories to publications, and if you consider the level of the writing I produced back then, I stood little or no chance of getting something accepted. I married my wife when I was 31.
The ‘first-aid’ of education: a Gazan teacher’s journey through genocide

2 months ago | thestreetspirit.org | Zack Haber |Bradley M. Penner

“All my wishes can be summarized in two words,” Gazan English teacher Asma Mustafa told me in a voice message on January 25, “peace and love among people here.”This was the first I’d heard from Asma since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was implemented. We had been communicating on and off through text and voice messages since last September, when she asked if I would write a report about her teaching, which continued throughout the Israel-Hamas war, despite her daily struggle to survive.
The power in paper: 35 years of street news

2 months ago | thestreetspirit.org | Caron Creighton |Bradley M. Penner

Street newspapers, like the one you’re reading now, have been in circulation since the late 80s. Originally inspired by the need to elevate unhoused people’s stories through their own words, street newspapers often counter the problematic narratives regarding poverty and homelessness published by mainstream media outlets. In 1989, Street News was launched in New York City, becoming the seminal publication of the modern street newspaper movement.
Supriya Yelimeli and Pablo Circa

2 months ago | thestreetspirit.org | Supriya Yelimeli

Supriya Yelimeli is a journalist and writer based in Oakland, CA. Her reporting has focused on homelessness, politics, and activism. Pablo Circa is a photographer based in Oakland, CA. His work captures the resilience, determination, and spirit of Black culture.
Berkeley to close Second and Cedar, offers programs

Feb 4, 2025 | thestreetspirit.org | Alastair Boone |Bradley M. Penner

On January 14, members of the Berkeley City Manager’s office held a community meeting at the Second and Cedar encampment in West Berkeley to discuss its upcoming closure, as well as state-funded resources the city says it will provide to the encampment’s displaced residents.
Oakland protest leads to invitation from city administrator’s office

Jan 6, 2025 | thestreetspirit.org | Bradley M. Penner

In December, homeless activists across California organized protests calling attention to the rise in encampment sweeps since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson last summer.
Street Spirit horoscopes: January 2025

Jan 6, 2025 | thestreetspirit.org | Boudia Crow Lafleur |Bradley M. Penner

Disclaimer: this is only for entertainment and recreational purposes. The horoscopes listed down below are manifested through my skill of divination, which involves the use of my oracle cards. If these readings resonate with you, that is awesome. If they do not, that is fine as well. It is your journey. It is up to you to create the paths needed to survive this capitalist and colonialist world we all live in, and to be able to thrive in a new world created outside these systems of oppression.
Remembering Hustleman: The love and life of Derrick Arnes Hayes

Jan 6, 2025 | thestreetspirit.org | Alastair Boone |Bradley M. Penner

It’s 1965, and Derrick Hayes is walking to school with his younger sister, Andrea. The two walk hand in hand through the West Side of Chicago, as they do most days, when she spots a dead squirrel on the sidewalk. She screams and bursts into tears at the sight of the dead animal. Right away, Derrick picks her up and carries her to the other side of the street so she doesn’t have to look at it anymore. “He was always my protector,” she remembers.
Illumination - Street Spirit

Jan 6, 2025 | thestreetspirit.org | Jeannette DesBoine |Bradley M. Penner

In the dark times there is relief lurking in the shadows; waiting for dawn to break; waiting for first light; waiting for messages from the far side of caution. In the dark times, reflection hides itself in corners and waits for its moment of awareness; a signal far above the roar of silence. Dark times don’t last forever. Dark times gather ashes whenever the blinding light of truth is switched on. Jeannette DesBoine has been described as a Jeremiadist.
Wayfarer - Street Spirit

Jan 6, 2025 | thestreetspirit.org | Tim Rudolph |Bradley M. Penner

No direction home but I’m somebody’s someone somewhere Those things that I fear I’m without are often discovered within A trillion trillion stars blink into being, burn out, our little lives mere half-breaths in the iron lung of eternity— I find solace in my neverlastingness Near the off-ramp a change of fortune: a concrete culvert, shelter for this wayward hobo, the lullaby of traffic, a spider’s web my dreamcatcher Desolation feels truer than false hope but I pray nonetheless: That the cold...