CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A Charlotte magazine is helping the homeless population learn to become authors, while also teaching people how to start a small business.
- The publication was started in 2011 by a former English teacher
- The magazine sells for $5 or $10 depending on the issue's edition
- Most of the vendors can be found in NoDa, Plaza Midwood, and Uptown
Speak Up Magazine is a magazine written by homeless people and also sold by homeless people. The publication was started in 2011 by Matt Shaw, a former English teacher, and his wife. Their goal is to help those living on the street learn how to sell the magazine to make a profit and how to turn their ideas into poems and short stories.
“The only way you can get this magazine is to buy it in a public place, on the streets, or at a table that someone has set up," Shaw said.
He says vendors buy the magazine for a discounted price, sell it, and keep the profit. They can also learn how to write for the magazine with the help of writing workshops.
Edward Smalls and Earleen Mingo are both authors and vendors, and they say the magazine has given them confidence and changed their lives.
“I got my own place to stay, and I met nice people," Smalls said. "People that call me once a week and take me to dinner or breakfast or whatever.”
“I didn’t know which way I was going, where I was going to sleep that night, all that. By working for Speak Up Magazine I found my way," Mingo said.
He says watching the authors and vendors find their voice has been the best part of launching the magazine.
“I feel extremely privileged, and Speak Up is extremely privileged to be the vehicle to bring some of these stories to the world," he said. "These are stories of heartbreak, and triumph, and loss, and victory, and people who have had it all and then lost it all and are climbing their way back up."
Most of the vendors can be found in NoDa, Plaza Midwood, and Uptown. The magazine sells for $5 or $10 depending on the issue's edition.