Every Tuesday, staff of the Real Homeless Herald meet up in a back room of the Day Center in downtown Wilmington to plan out their upcoming issues. It’s a busy space: a homeless shelter where folks can get lunch, a cup of coffee, and some respite during the day. As Pastor Meg McBride heads up this meeting, one team member walks in with her dog.
“So Russ just asked we’re going to try to do this every month right on the first of the month, is our goal to release our edition on the first.” McBride says, before greeting Luna the dog and her owner, Theresa Sheively. “Hi Puppy! I started typing your article. We have to work on it a little bit, but add a little fluff in there, Theresa.”
The first issue came out October 1, and the staff plan to put out a new issue every month, with reporting, editorials, and comics, all written by currently and formerly homeless individuals.
The community seems to be backing this effort — with many folks asking for PDF versions of the newspaper to print off and distribute. The Cape Fear Literacy Council showed up as well, providing computers and helping set up a Google Drive account for the staff…