Our Mission:
To provide jobs and work opportunities for Street Survivors (current and formerly unhoused individuals).
To work with partners to provide food and meals to those who are unhoused or who can’t afford groceries.
We’ve already gotten one person out of the homeless cycle, and another off the street!
More Info About Us
Prevail News is a 510(c)(3) non-profit corporation. We Do Business As (DBA) Prevail Mix. We are based in Saint Paul, MN, operating out of Zion Community Commons. Currently we are 100% volunteer.
Contact info:
Jerry Sedgewick, Director
jerry@prevailnews.org
651-788-2261 (Jerry’s cell phone: please text)
Food Distributor License
Board of Directors:
Colin Anderson (Chef, founder of Eureka Compass), John Marboe (Pastor, Zion church and community center), Daniel Velner (former IT specialist and Street Survivor), Mira Kehoe (Musician and founder of Arts on LaFond).
History:
Prevail News was formed in 2015 to produce newspapers for vendors to sell alongside roads. It was our hope that Prevail News could replicate what has been done in Nashville, Tennessee, where all who are homeless and formerly homeless sell newspapers instead of holding signs. However, in the Twin Cities, it is more profitable to panhandle than it is to sell newspapers. Furthermore, those who panhandle are not always homeless.
Our focus shifted to producing a documentary entitled “Guttered.” The documentary was made to give viewers a first-hand view of homelessness via the filmmaker (Jerry Sedgewick). Jerry uses a hidden camera to record his experiences sleeping overnight in a shelter, eating at a soup kitchen, interviewing to find social services and a place to live, and going through steps to find a job. Stories from five former street survivors comment on what it was like to be homeless throughout the documentary.
Final reflections on the outcome for chronically homeless persons come in a eureka moment when behavior epi-genetic effects enter the picture. The film points out that trauma can create permanent behavioral changes through the DNA (epi-genetics), thus pushing for the urgent need to get street people into housing immediately.
Prevail News continues its original mission to provide jobs. Our first business was Prevail Mix, operated at Zion Lutheran Church in Saint Paul through the generosity of their pastor, John Marboe and staff, most notably Sue Widerski. Our first pancake/waffle mixes, corn muffin mix and batter mix were sold at Hampden Coop in Saint Paul.
We are currently working on ways to scale up food justice programs at Zion Commuinty Commons and to create a new product we can sell more profitably. We have added to our mission statement to reflect our new partnership with Zion and our mission to feed healthy food to the underserved in our community.
Donations:
When donating, indicate whether monies go to EXCEED FUND CAMPAIGN or to GENERAL FUND.
