GAS fuels drive to help the homeless

One of the few community papers in the world that is still truly in the hands of its community, Homeless Talk supports over 400 registered vendors and a number of community writers and journalists who provide content for the newspaper. As homelessness and unemployment continue to flourish in the street of Johannesburg, Homeless Talk Newspaper aims to provide the homeless with job opportunities, whilst teaching them basic marketing and sales strategies. Ultimately the aim is to provide them with the opportunity to reinstate dignity and empowerment into their lives.

"Given that GAS is a full service advertising agency that deals with various forms of media on a day to day basis, it seemed only natural that we should seek to support a 'media driven' community upliftment initiative," says managing director of GAS Advertising Agency, Russell Lund. GAS' first creative input has been the redesign of the newspaper's masthead in support of their 10th anniversary, and a cleaner, more progressive tone.

Dr Philip Coetzer, a Homeless Talk board member explains: "The new look of this month's issue of Homeless Talk is a reflection of the recent restructuring within our organisation. It marks the start of several changes and additions to the newspaper, which promise great success in the future."

David Bullard, writer of the "out to lunch" column of the Sunday Times, has offered to write a monthly column for Homeless Talk, the first of which will be included in the August issue of Homeless Talk together with a new 'Women's' column.

"We at Homeless Talk are looking forward to working alongside GAS. A partnership with such a vibrant advertising agency can only lead to success in this drive to turn Homeless Talk around," says Dr Coetzer.