History of NASNA Conferences

History of NASNA Conferences

For two humid August days in 1996, Chicago played host to a historic conference. For the first time, representatives from 26 street newspapers across the U.S. and Canada came together to get acquainted, share ideas, and explore the possibilities of creating a network. It was there, in a unanimous vote by participants, that the North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) was born.

Unity in Difference
Street newspapers have a mission to do one or both of the following: 1. to inform the public and shape perceptions about social issues, poverty and homelessness, and 2. to empower homeless people through employment.

Despite this agreed definition, it has been clear since that first conference that there is no one best way to run a street newspaper. Papers range from Chicago