STREETWISE
Offering a Hand Up- Not a Hand Out
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
StreetWise works at the intersection of homelessness and poverty, supporting some of the poorest and disenfranchised populations in Chicago. Urban poverty is exacerbated by economic and political shifts in Chicago, Cook County, State of Illinois, and at the federal government, and the fall out continues to grow. The people we work with are on the economic and social margins, facing homelessness, re-entry post incarceration, post hospitalization due to health, mental health or substance abuse, traumatized veterans, and people with disabilities or limited mobility. StreetWise offers a community of support where individuals can learn skills, earn an income with dignity, get basic needs met, and learn to reconnect and reengage as members of society.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Magazine Vendor Program
The StreetWise foundational program is the Magazine Vendor Program. StreetWise publishes a weekly magazine that we sell to our authorized vendors for $0.90, who in turn sell the magazine to the public for $2.00, earning $1.10 on the sale of each magazine, plus any tips. They’re entrepreneurs who are building a business to meet their basic needs and provide for themselves and families.
Each vendor receives sales training and support with 15 free magazines to launch their enterprise. Once the training is completed each vendor is issued a badge that authorizes them to sell magazines at assigned locations throughout the Metropolitan Chicagoland area. They receive ongoing support and training through Field Supervisors and monthly sales meetings. Vendors also learn and hone hard skills in inventory management, budgeting, customer service and engagement, and sales.
As a weekly publication, StreetWise Magazine is socially conscious and Chicago-centric. It raises awareness on the impact of poverty and homelessness, social justice, racial justice, equality and culture in Chicago, across the nation, and around the world.
Its staff have received numerous national, state, and local awards for the quality of StreetWise offerings, its service to the homeless population of Chicago, and its importance to the community in general. Reporters and contributors include professional journalists, journalism students, and StreetWise vendors, as well as clients from other Chicago area social service organizations.
Vendor voice is an essential element as we give voice to the voiceless. Vendor-generated content is incorporated into each issue through SportsWise, EatWise, Writer’s Group, and Vendor Profile columns in the magazine.
Unique to street papers around the globe, StreetWise offers supportive services to provide direct support, advocacy and linkages to community resources that help individuals overcome the barriers that contribute to chronic unemployment, homelessness, and extreme poverty.
Supportive Services
StreetWise Support Services assists individuals in their goals of attaining stability and advocates for poverty alleviation in the community. StreetWise Supportive Services strives to affirm and empower individuals and oppressed groups.
StreetWise Support Services are available to current program participants in need of advocacy and referrals to community resources. Support Services staff utilize Harm Reduction, enabling individuals to self-identify goals and solutions.
Office hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Wednesday from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Walk-in appointments for active StreetWise program participants are permitted during these hours, though calling ahead to check availability when possible is recommended!
Support Services staff are dedicated to providing effective and comprehensive services in accordance with StreetWise’s overall mission.
Support Services include, but are not limited to:
Free hot meals provided daily in café
Clothing needs for employment and seasonal weather conditions
Distribute toiletries and hygiene kits
Case management to connect participants with resources to meet basic needs
Housing resource referrals
Partnerships with legal aid resources to help get criminal records expunged and sealed
Financial and Digital literacy workshops
Assistance obtaining public benefits, including SNAP, medical insurance and care, People With Disabilities Ride Free, and others
Help for getting necessary documents, including State IDs and birth certificates
Assistance connecting to public benefits, including County Care Medicaid Program, vision and dental
Mail distribution and use as a stable address, essential for engaging with potential employers and government agencies.
Use of telephone and cell phone charging stations
Crisis counseling, as well as Substance abuse and Mental Health support and referral
StreetWise Support Services staff work in collaboration with Jane Addams College of Social Work t University of Illinois at Chicago, the School of Social Work at Loyola University Chicago, and DePaul University. Master of Social Work Candidates work as support services interns throughout the academic year and summer term.
StreetWise Transitional Employment Program (STEP)
The StreetWise STEP Program is aimed at assisting at-risk job seekers in finding and maintaining sustainable employment. We help individuals eliminate barriers and overcome obstacles to employment and self-sufficiency.
Empowering People to Work!
A job specialist completes the intake process including verifying employment eligibility, as well as assessing skills and interests.
The 2-week training program focuses on workplace skills including communication, time management, professionalism, customer services, and problem-solving.
An employment mentor assists with resume writing, interviewing skills, job searches, and completing pre-employment requirements.
All participants have access to ongoing support to maintain employment.
Connecting employers to qualified, eligible, and pre-screened employees
Employers save time and resources as they are connected with a pool of qualified and pre-screened candidates
We follow-up with our participants and employer partners to ensure satisfaction after hiring
Reduce employee turnover
StreetWise Transitional Employment Program graduates obtain employment in the food service, hospitality, janitorial, retail sectors, and more.
Our participants have over a 90% job retention rate, and our employers consistently report satisfaction with our program and their new employees.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
International Network of Street Papers 2019
External reviews
Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
StreetWise Goals and Objectives
The overarching goal of all StreetWise initiatives and activities is to Empower People to Work. The StreetWise model combines opportunities to earn an immediate income, traditional employment opportunities, as well as supportive services to eliminate barriers to employment that prevent individuals from achieving personal and financial stability.
Overarching strategic goals are to work with 10% of Chicago's homeless population and increase budget to $1.25 million to support those efforts.
Specific goals include:
● Recruit more underserved Chicagoans and get them started earning an immediate income through the sales of StreetWise magazine.
● Increase the vendor force to an average of 145 active vendors per month (a 10% increase)
● Achieve financial and per unit sales goals to maintain operations
● Continue to produce a high-quality magazine that focuses on local issues of economic, social, and racial justice, equality, making Chicago accessible to all.
●Connect more individuals re-entering the job market to potential employers through the S.T.E.P. Program and begin earning a regular paycheck
● Increase number of newly employed people to 90-days
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
● Increase referral networks to provide a pipeline of potential magazine sellers
Targeted communications with local elected officials, neighborhood associations to spread awareness of StreetWise employment opportunities
Establish secondary and tertiary distribution sites
Sales Clubs and Job Clubs provide group support to set and meet individual goals
Expand partnerships with individuals, organizations, schools that can provide magazine content to increase relevancy and timeliness of information.
Expand partnerships to create more opportunities for our participants to meet their basic needs including food, clothing, personal hygiene, and seasonal items
● Establish and grow a more robust volunteer program to better match the supply and demand for volunteers in the organization including individuals, students, families, school groups, interns, and other professionals.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The capacity for executing on our objectives and strategies in this new COVID-19 world is in some ways very limiting and in other ways has allowed the team to focus on the core of the mission and prioritize work. For instance, a key way we support our Magazine Vendors and job-seekers is through providing basic needs (to-go meals, shelf stable groceries, PPE, toiletries, and emergency clothing) so limited resources can be redirected toward other expenses. This has been more time-consuming but essential to ensure the health and safety of those we serve.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Need to come back to this
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
STREETWISE
Board of directorsas of 02/25/2021
Mr. Ben Swartz
Marcel Digital
Term: 2018 - 2020
Pete Kadens
Kadens Holding
Term: 2018 -
Brad Akers
Buy Hive
Bruce Crane
Crane Carton Co. (Retired)
Aaron Friedman
Walgreens Boots Alliance
Amol Gavankar
KPMG
Scott Goldstein
Acorn Investment Partners
Deana Haynes
JLL
Jon Hennessy
Independent Investor & Consultant
Mica Matsoff
Children's First Foundation
Adam Meek
Brownfield Management Associates
Ted Perlstein
AMTRAV Corporate Travel
Karen Pittenger
Black Olive Co.
Pat Quinn
Former Governor of Illinois
Laura Reff
Jonathan Reinsdorf
Froogal Pay
Scott Steward
Project Tech Teens
Neema Varghese
NV Consulting Services
Dave Pavlik
Stephanie Itkonen
JLL
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/19/2019GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.