| Over
a decade ago, Robert Hansen began selling
Real Change. Since then, his friendliness and
people skills have made him consistently one of Real
Change’s top vendors and eventually led to
a promotion to vendor representative.
A native of the Rainier Valley, Robert has been selling
papers in the Seattle area since the 1980s. Now, Robert
sells Real Change at the Seward Park PCC. As
vendor representative, Robert acted as a liaison between
customers and Real Change, and worked to expand
the paper’s distribution in the Seattle area.
In addition to a job, Real Change has helped
turn Hansen into an outspoken advocate for the homeless
and low-income families. As a social activist, Robert
has pressured state government to increase affordable
housing. It has been an uphill battle, he says, in a
boom-town like Seattle. His knowledge of selling papers
and his broad experience with social advocacy have led
to interviews with the Seattle Times, the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, and the New York Times.
But it’s not about the press, nor is it, says
Robert, “about the money.” What is it all
about then? For Robert, it’s about spreading awareness
of issues facing the homeless—or, as he puts it,
“human dignity.”
The next time you see Robert, or any Real Change
vendor, take his advice and say, “Keep up the
good work.”
—JP Gritton
Who’s the special person who offers you Real
Change? Nominate them for Vendor of the Week:
editor@realchangenews.org
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