A new local publication written and sold by Traverse City’s homeless population will give them jobs and help the public interact with them, says Bill Shaw, founder of Speak Up Traverse City.

The paper is planning a “soft launch” June 28, with three to four vendors selling the paper around downtown Traverse City. The publication will be a version of a Charlotte magazine published by Shaw’s son and daughter-in-law, Matt and Lana Shaw. Bill Shaw and his wife Deborah hope to launch a Traverse City-centric version this summer, with articles written by Traverse City’s homeless population. He plans on 24 pages, about eight pages of which will be local content.

Ryan Hannon, street outreach coordinator for Goodwill, says a street paper can be an excellent venue for homeless people to share their stories.

“It’s a great way for people who are living on the street to connect with people,” Hannon says. The stories will be from a perspective the public doesn’t often see, he said, plus writing and selling provide meaningful activities.

Hannon and Shaw both say a street paper also is an ideal way to educate the general public about the issues facing the homeless.

“There’s a misconception that (homeless people) can’t do anything; they aren’t presentable,” Hannon says. “Homelessness doesn’t mean they’re incapable.”

“It’s not glorified panhandling,” Shaw adds. “The public has to say, ‘We want to promote jobs.’” Selling the publication is an alternative to begging and handouts and helps vendors learn to manage their resources and increase their business.

Speak Up will hold writing workshops for homeless individuals to prepare them for writing the stories. The workshops will be led by Melissa Sprenkel, a communications instructor at Northwestern Michigan College. There’s also training to be a sales vendor, which stresses salesmanship, etiquette and appearance.

“The training is a great way to increase job skills, get them back in the groove of doing those things,” Hannon says. “It can be a great steppingstone.”

Eventually, locals will write 300- to 400-word essays for publication in the paper, Shaw adds. For now, vendors will sell the “zine" version of the Charlotte magazine, which covers issues of "homelessness, poverty, culture and social truth.” At the soft launch, vendors will be given 20 free zines to sell; after that they’ll pay 40 cents for each zine and sell them for $1.

“They can make $20 or $40 and leave, or they can come back and sell more later, which we hope they do,” he says. Plans are to have the paper come out monthly, but that could change depending on the community’s reaction.

Speak Up is part of the International Network of Street Papers, the umbrella group for more than 120 street papers in 41 countries. The Shaws published a street paper, Jeepney, during the five years they lived in the Philippines. The Traverse City venture has nonprofit status, an advisory board and a license to sell within city limits. Shaw is hoping to find eight to 10 sponsors for the paper in lieu of paid advertising.