This series consists of issues of the Spare Change and Our Voice Newspapers. The first mention of Edmonton's Spare Change was in the March 1994 edition of Vancouver's Spare Change Newspaper, and the first issue of the Edmonton Newspaper being released in April 1994. The final issue was released in May 2005. Early editions were published by Martin Garber-Conrad, before becoming a co-production of the Bissell Centre, the Calgary Urban Project Society, and the Edmonton City Centre Church Corporation (E4C). The partnership lasted until 1997, at which point the papers were published by the Bissell Centre and E4C. By 1999 the sole published listed was the Bissell Centre.
The newspapers were envisioned as a way to provide an income to economically marginalized people while communicating their issues to the public. The publication provided a venue for stories relating to poverty and homelessness in Edmonton and to provide a voice for those who were largely ignored by the mainstream media. Other topics included topical news stories, and articles on prostitution, drug addiction, as well as profiles of members of the community. Licensed vendors would pay a small amount to cover the cost of publication and then sell the papers on the street for a donation.
Many people associated with the paper would play other important rolls in other areas of Edmonton ; editor Michael Walters became a City Councilor, writer Marjorie Bencz became Executive Director of the Edmonton Food Bank. Writer Jim Gurnett became Executive Director of the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, writer Linda Numont went on to publish Edmonton Street News and Alberta Street News as well as being a lifetime housing advocate with the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness.
