The Denver Voice, a free monthly paper that provides job opportunities to people who are homeless through a low-barrier vendor program, is shutting down for at least one month because of a lack of money, according to a post on its Facebook page Friday afternoon.
The paper’s management hopes the closure will be temporary.
“Due to an ongoing lack of funds, we cannot pay our staff, cover our expenses, or continue supporting our vendor program,” the post reads in part. “If our situation changes in the next month, we will let everyone know by posting an update to our social media platforms.”
The paper, which has an office at 989 Sante Fe Drive in Denver, has been in operation on and off since 1996 and continuously since 2007. It was founded as a grassroots paper created by homeless people for homeless people, according to its website
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Its vendor program has offered people who are living on the streets, facing the loss of their housing or simply in need of some immediate income the opportunity to operate as their own “micro-businesses,” according to a description on the website.
New vendors were given 10 free papers to start. The company recommended they sell each copy for $2 apiece. Once the first 10 were sold, a vendor could return to the Voice’s office and buy as many copies of the monthly paper as they wanted for 50 cents each and then sell them at whatever price they chose to set, keeping the profits they made. The paper estimated 4,000 people have worked as Voice vendors over the years.
“We appreciate our donors, volunteers, contributors, and staff, who have made the Denver VOICE the program it has been,” Friday’s Facebook post reads. “Most importantly, we are grateful to our vendors and hope to find a way to continue providing a low-barrier income opportunity to those who have come to rely on vending the paper.”
A voicemail and email seeking more information about the closure were not immediately returned on Friday afternoon.
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