WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- A monthly Washington newspaper for the homeless uses homeless journalists -- and one helped break a major story about alleged exploitation of the homeless.
Founded in 2003, Street Sense recently broke the biggest story in its history, an investigation of businesses that allegedly pay the homeless less than the minimum wage to evict people from rental homes, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
A 43-year-old homeless man, Jake Ashford, turned undercover reporter to help get the scoop, the Journal said.
The story has sparked an investigation by an advocacy group for the homeless and a Washington law firm to see whether they can sue the eviction firms.
Earlier the newspaper broke a story about a carpenters' union hiring the homeless to staff picket lines.
Articles in Street Sense range from the mundane to the whimsical, the Journal said.
Last month the paper examined executive compensation for directors of charities that work with the homeless.
There is even a monthly installment of a mystery story about an attorney who goes to bat for the homeless.
A team of 45 mostly homeless people buy the newspaper for 25 cents each and sell it on the streets for a dollar.
