Flipping the Scripts of poverty and panhandling: Organizing democracy by creating connections

This study relies on participant observation and in-depth interviews to explore how StreetWise, an organization with a newspaper by the same name, mobilizes symbolic and material support for people without homes or those at risk. Pragmatism is used to understand how StreetWise ameliorates the experience of homelessness by building community. In stark contrast to forces that erase "the homeless" from the public scene, StreetWise integrates people without homes, as vendors, into community life by providing employment and raising awareness about poverty-related issues. Through its structure, mission, and business plan StreetWise encourages an engaged citizenry and enhances civic discourses. StreetWise provides scholars with a context within which to understand the reflexive and interactive organization-society relationships that strive to support a democratic way of life.