8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS GROUNDCOVER15 Groundcover News turns 15: Origin story, community impacts and a brighter future Happy Birthday Groundcover News! This year we celebrate the 15-year anniversary of Groundcover News. This is a significant milestone. Origin Story A famous Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, is credited with the ancient proverb which says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The journey of Groundcover News started when Susan Beckett, Groundcover founder and Publisher Emeritus, purchased a street newspaper from a homeless man in front of a Seattle coffee shop. When she came home to Ann Arbor after visiting her daughter in Seattle, it dawned on her that homeless individuals could be given a voice and empowerment while earning some income from streetpaper selling. It was a bright idea, which was needed in the Ann Arbor - Ypsilanti metropolitan area. The Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 damaged the auto industry in Detroit and Southeast Michigan counties. The autoparts plating and supplier businesses in Ypsilanti laid off many employees and many Detroiters who faced layoffs, evictions and uncertain futures came to Ann Arbor looking for income and employment opportunities. Beckett and other civic-minded community leaders were aware of the homeless situation. Research surveys done by the Washtenaw County government and the city of Ann Arbor showed exponential increases in homeless populations year to year. Groundcover News was one of the outcomes. A valuable article written on September 29, 2010, by Jan Schlain of Ann Arbor Observer shed some light on WILL SHAKESPEARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 Beckett’s creation of Groundcover News. The title of Ms. Schlain’s article was, “Planting Groundcover News: A homeless newspaper takes root.” From her interview with Beckett we learned a few specific details. Schlain wrote the following revealing paragraph: “Susan Beckett, a former software engineer and teacher, is the paper’s founder and chief volunteer. She was visiting her daughter in Seattle last summer when she bought a newspaper from a homeless person outside a coffee shop. When she returned home she discussed the idea of starting something similar here with members of several groups, including RESULTS, the social action committee at Temple Beth Emeth and Organizing for America - OFA.” The quote continues: “Beckett said, ‘One OFA leader, Tad Wysor, introduced me to a young man, Marquise Williams, who had expressed interest in helping those in poverty find their voice.’ Beckett continued, ‘Marquise and I visited various community meals, described the paper and asked people to give us their contact information if they were interested in participating in any way.’” Schlain also reported, “A friend introduced Beckett to Laurie JULY 25, 2025 Lounsbury, a former reporter and editor for papers in Petoskey and Charlevoix, who volunteered to become the paper’s editor. Beckett recalled, ‘Marquise, Laurie and I met to do some initial formulation, then I contacted everyone who had ever expressed interest, and we met at First Baptist Church.’ Beckett continued, ‘I organized the meeting with help from Ron Gregg, a parishioner at First Baptist who manages the interfaith outreach mailing list and organized the meeting to address the homeless situation.’ Beckett continued, ‘…they defined our core values, mission and operating principles.’" Schlain observed that the mission statement discussed by Beckett and others was included in the first issue of the paper. The mission was “to create opportunity and a voice for low-income people while taking action to end homelessness and poverty.” The group that met at First Baptist Church also discussed the choice of a name for the new paper. Lounsbury suggested the paper be named “Groundcover” because “It’s really local news that starts from the ground Groundcover News volunteer meeting in 2019, attended by Lindsay Calka, Susan Beckett, office staff, student volunteers and social work interns. up.” In 2010 there were more than 100 “street newspapers” around the world like Groundcover. Beckett remembered that the editor of the Toledo Streets newspaper offered her some advice, and a D.C. paper shared their computer files, training programs and tracking forms. These street papers in Toledo and Washington, D.C. are members of the International Network of Street Papers, which used to have a division called the North America Street Newspapers Association (NASNA). The Ann Arbor Observer also reported that a homeless action group called 1Matters donated $1000 to print the first issue of Groundcover News. In her conversation with the Ann Arbor Observer reporter, Beckett noted that after the first issue of Groundcover News was published, she attended a NASNA conference in Chicago. She collected samples of city street newspapers, including the ones from large cities such as Chicago and Seattle which had hundreds of vendors who sell them. Beckett did think that as the Groundcover Newspaper “expands into more of Washtenaw County, it will be able to accommodate more sales people.” That was prophetic. It is happening now! Since 2010, 681 vendors have sold Groundcover News. As of July 2025, there are 45 active vendors selling in Washtenaw County, mostly in the city of Ann Arbor. The idea of Groundcover News became an innovative solution to the plight of the homeless. It was eventually welcomed by the Main Street Business Association, The Downtown Development Authority, Ann Arbor City Council, Washtenaw Board of Commissioners, Interfaith Council of Ann Arbor, Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor Civic Foundation and homeless advocates from the University of Michigan, to mention a few. Leadership transition, community impacts and vision for the future Groundcover News has been see HISTORY page 11
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