For the past 16 years, Streetwise vendors have been selling newspapers, and more recently magazines, on the sidewalks of Chicago. But the publication might go under if it doesn’t receive an influx of money soon.

“We’ve got declining ad revenue, we’ve got declining donations and we’ve got declining buyers of our magazine,” said Pete Kadens, vice president of Streetwise’s board. “It’s been the perfect financial storm.”

Kadens said if they don’t get any help or significant donations, Streetwise has less than a month before they would have to close its doors. There are currently 225 vendors working with Streetwise, many of whom have families that rely on that income, he said.

“But, I want to make it clear—we aren’t going to let that happen,” Kadens said. “This is not a doomsday scenario because we are going to find a way to make this work.”

A registered nonprofit founded by Judd Lofchie in 1992, Streetwise has been helping homeless and people at-risk of being homeless in Chicago earn a living by providing them with a weekly magazine to sell, and then letting them keep the majority of the  proceeds.

“The mission is to empower them to be self-sufficient,” Lofchie said. “We want to teach them to fish instead of giving them a fish.”

Kadens said Streetwise has responded to their financial problems by lowering expenses dramatically. Streetwise has cut its monthly operation budget by 50 percent, lowered its overhead expenses and has even laid off staff.

“We don’t even have a social worker on staff anymore,” Kadens said. “That’s unfortunate because we have a lot of people who have needs that require a professional, clinical person to help them.”

On a busy Wednesday afternoon, Alexander Chatman stood near the corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive trying to sell Streetwise magazines to passersby. Chatman, a vendor since February, said it would be hard for him and the other vendors to find new jobs or sources of income if Streetwise went under.

“Most of [the vendors] don’t have much of an education or any kind of vocational training,” Chatman said.

Chatman said he is currently living with a relative, so he is not in danger of becoming homeless if he loses his Streetwise income, but he said many of the other vendors would be.

“They will go back to being homeless because they won’t be able to pay the rent on their apartments and they’ll get evicted,” he said. “And a lot of them have families … the vendors won’t be the only ones affected—it could be even worse for their families.”

In November 2008, Streetwise moved from a newspaper format, which sold for $1 each, to a four-color, higher quality glossy magazine format that sells for $2. Lofchie said they knew they might lose some circulation after switching to the magazine, but because of bad timing—the change came around the same time the economic crisis hit—they lost much more than they thought.

Additionally, Lofchie said they had an ineffective executive director for a few years who was very unsuccessful in fundraising and obtaining grants. That person was fired, and a new director was brought in to turn things around, but it takes time to see the results, he said.

“If Streetwise folds, it will be a tragedy for Chicago,” Chatman said.

But Lofchie, who put up his own life savings to start Streetwise, is confident that won’t happen. He said there are too many people counting on Streetwise to let it go under.

“We’re not just going to give up—I assure you,” Lofchie said. “It’s an uphill battle but we’re not giving up.”