10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS VENDOR VOICES The women of Groundcover News LIT KURTZ Groundcover vendor No. 159 Only a select group of people will ever understand life without mainstream housing. Even a smaller group will appreciate what it is like to be a woman facing this struggle. Women have special challenges on the street. From the teen who has been abandoned by parents or freshly aged out of foster care to the elderly woman with no family, there are challenges and vulnerabilities that are unique to being a woman. In a 2017 article, former Groundcover Human Service Director Laurie Wetcher noted that families make up half of the unhoused population and that, of those families, 90% are headed by single women. These women's lifestyles will invariably have an impact on future generations. The women of Groundcover News and street papers around the world know the struggles all too well. Yet despite obstacles or because of them, we are among those who have defied the odds and changed our circumstances through the entrepreneurship model this publication offers. The women of Groundcover make up a small percentage of vendors; presently only a third of active Groundcover vendors are women. We are women who are small businesses with taxpaying responsibilities. We are the ones who face all weather conditions and frequent societal hostilities and rejections while remaining steadfast in improving ourselves in this entrepreneurial endeavor. We are women from different ethnic backgrounds, varied age groups, different races and classes all working on a common goal. The noticeable differences of the larger world are obscured as we fight for survival and to share the common message of the plight of the unhoused. Although we are from different walks of life, our shared struggles unite us into a sisterhood that is undeniably our own. Yet well into the 21st century we face the struggle that many women have faced throughout American history — lack of inclusion. There seems to be no accomplishment worthy of recognition by our housed peers. For example, Kung Fu Panda is not only an artist who has faced housing insecurity, she is an artist in her own right with her own style. However, she is not present in the art galleries around our city. La Shawn Courtwright published a book of poems. Felicia Wilbert is published as well. Yet even during Women’s History Month these ladies' works are not sought out and featured in any of the displays featuring women's accomplishments. As a woman, I myself am proud to have been the first vendor nominated in 2016 for the Best Vendor Contribution Category at the International Street Paper Conference in Greece where I was one of the top five finalists. And yes, I plan to join the list of other women vendors from Groundcover who have published a book. Still, the glaring omission of unhoused women remains an anachronism in a world and community who feel they have “dotted all i’s and crossed all t’s” when it comes to equity and fairness for everyone. Increasingly, though, we are a force that is becoming more and more difficult to ignore. So, this Women’s History Month I celebrate myself and all women of Groundcover News and of street papers around the world. I hope you will join in this Women’s History Month to show your appreciation and help to celebrate us too. Besides selling Groundcover News, I am a writer, blogger, and am becoming a social media influencer. You can find out more about my activities at http:// litspage.com MARCH 24, 2023 What happened to the middle class? Once upon a time, not long ago, people liked to chill and live life slow. “Leave it to Beaver,” the family show in the 1960s and 70s was the poster family of the American middle class. I was raised in a middle class household. During this time period in American history the economy and the middle class was thriving. From the time I was a child to this very moment is like night and day, so much so it can make you lose faith in capitalism. Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by a few private owners for profit, rather than by the state. The essential feature of capitalism is the motive to make a profit. MIKE JONES Groundcover vendor No. 113 Middle class families’ jobs have been exported overseas to various different parts of the globe. That’s why people like myself no longer live in a middle class neighborhood. Car companies like Ford, GM and Chrysler, along with other jobs that used to sustain the middle class, are gone. Inflation is the rate of increase in prices over a given period of time. Everything has gone up besides our paychecks. Recession is part of the business cycle when things are not going well, resulting in things like high unemployment. There is a saying, “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” Unfortunately, all of this is by design, through big government, Wall Street bankers, and more. A lot of people who are still in the middle class find themselves in a struggle to remain there, often having a hard time making ends meet. ARE YOU A PHOTOGRAPHER LOOKING TO GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY? - Join the Groundcover News crew of volunteer photographers! Commitment can be anything from assignment-based images (for publication in the newspaper) or photography at Groundcover News events (for use on social media and Groundcover communications). If you have lived experience with homelessness there may be paid opportunities. Email contact@groundcovernews.com to learn more and sign-up for our list-serv.
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