Swoboda Changes the Face of Homelessness in St. Louis

The majority of people are homeless because they can’t afford a place to live.

During Tuesday’s Homelessness Awareness Speaker Presentation in the College Church, Jay Swodoba, executive director and founder of What’s Up Magazine, discussed what he sees as the main causes of homelessness in the United States. He also discussed what he believes needs to be done and what is already being done with street papers like What’s Up Magazine.

Swoboda set up What’s Up Magazine and The Homeless Empowerment Project in 2001 after he realized that he wanted to change the face of homelessness in St. Louis.

“What’s Up and The Homeless Empowerment Project represent a successful social enterprise that provides income opportunity to the poor, homeless, at risk or disadvantaged through publication and street sales of an urban issues, non-profit magazine, while providing a much needed voice to poor folks in the community,” Swoboda said.

The organization focuses on issues critical to the realities of homelessness, housing, healthcare and culture. Writers, artists, activists and musicians focus on these issues and publish their stories in the quarterly magazine.

“Our content combines social awareness and local entertainment in a way that encourages the entire diverse population of St. Louis to be socially conscious,” Swoboda said.

What’s Up employs people to help out in sales, advertising and production of the magazine. To be a vendor, an individual has to be homeless or economically disadvantaged. First, street vendors receive a badge, a city permit and ten free issues of the magazine. They are required to pay 25 cents per copy after the first free 10. Each copy is resold for a dollar, allowing each vendor to make a profit of 75 cents per magazine.

Since 2001, What’s Up has printed more than 350,000 copies, each generally 32 pages long. About 750 individuals have sold all these copies in these 10 years, allowing the sustainable model to raise more than $300,000 for the homeless.

Ed Little, a vendor, has had a lot of success with this model for homeless self-help and advocacy. He recently received The Keith Award – given to a special vendor every month for consistency or success in magazine sales - for purchasing over 550 copies of the last What’s Up Magazine issue.

Little told the audience of 20 how much What’s Up has changed his life, and he also described a typical day of a vendor in St. Louis.

 “About 100 people might tell you no. I say about 50 of them throw no’s up at you and roll their eyes … You don’t want to hear it. But, at the end it’s OK to a certain extent because in the end I’m able to take home a little something and I enjoy doing it,” Little said. 

Although, What’s Up empowers Little to take control of his homeless situation, it is only temporary employment. Swoboda said that the only way to fix homelessness permanently is to increase the minimum wage and create affordable housing.