Curbside Chronicle Magazine Celebrates 100 Issues

One city, ten years, and 100 issues, Curbside Chronicle is having a huge impact for Oklahoma City’s homeless.

“We are a magazine aimed at employing people transitioning out of homelessness,” said Ranya Forgotson with the Curbside Chronicle.

The idea for the magazine was brought to the Homeless Alliance ten years ago by two college students.

“I have to be honest, I said that’s never going to work, but we should try it,” Homeless Alliance founder and executive director, Dan Straughan.

Now, ten years later, the award-winning magazine is changing the lives of those fighting to get out of homelessness.

“So far, in the past ten years Curbside has helped over 380 people end their homelessness, and that’s one magazine at a time,” said Forgotson.

The magazine provides employment and income to the vendors and allows an interaction to break down stereotypes.

“That’s 12,000 positive interactions between a homeless person and a non-homeless person every month,” said Straughan.

This month, publishers are excited to release their 100th issue.

“We in this past time have sold over 975,000 copies of our magazine,” said Forgotson.

Translating into over $4 million in earned wages into the pockets of the vendors, which is cause for a celebration.

“This Saturday we are inviting the entire Oklahoma City community out to celebrate alongside our staff and vendors at the Wheeler Ferris wheel,” said Forgotson.

The fun starts at 6 p.m. with free rides on the Ferris Wheel, free snow cones, food trucks and games and at 8:30 p.m., a movie.

“We’re doing a free screening of Disney’s Newsies in the park,” said Forgotson.

All in celebration of a $2 magazine to get people off the street and into housing.

“Three hundred and eighty people now have housing because individuals across Oklahoma City decided to buy a magazine,” said Forgotson.

There will be a booth set up to get more information about the magazine, visit www.thecurbsidechronicle.org. For information on the Homeless alliance and all their programs visit www.homelessalliance.org.