Look who's talking: Literary magazine gives voices to homeless

Until now members of the homeless community have had little opportunity to share their stories.

Finally it's their turn to do some of the talking.

With the help of the Hunger and Homelessness Outreach Program (HOPE) homeless people in Chapel Hill will now have an outlet to contribute to community dialogue.

HOPE's latest project is a literary magazine featuring creative contributions from members of the homeless community. HOPE takes a creative approach to expand the public's perception on the homeless experience.

The magazine will showcase creative voices and share new perspectives while introducing distinct personalities.

By providing an outlet for this previously untapped portion of the population" HOPE's project addresses a key issue while bringing faces and stories to humanize a ""social problem.""

For most of us" the magazine will offer a first glimpse into the lives of people we often pass by but hardly stop to acknowledge or know.

Their stories deserve to be told and HOPE deserves credit for recognizing this and for making it possible.

The project is a move towards social inclusion by letting the homeless engage with the rest of the community and vice versa.

Community discussions about important social issues like homelessness are not complete unless everyone has the chance to speak.

We can learn a lot just by listening. The more we know about the community as a whole the more effective we can be in forming policy decisions. 

We wish the new magazine the best of luck. We just hope our future employers do not get any ideas.