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Vendor Profiles

  • Vendor Profile: Cat Taylor

    by Hannah Myrick | April 18th, 2018
    Cat Taylor, photo by Jon Williams

    Cat Taylor has quite a few stories to tell.

    She is a self-described crafting nerd and perfect tourist, the daughter of two Irish immigrants (so she’s big on her Irish heritage) and, when we talked, was on her 94th day of a healthy-eating quest for no junk food in an effort to lose weight.

    She’s also a passionate crafter.

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  • Vendor Profile: Richard Gambino

    by Gretchen Schultz | April 11th, 2018
    Richard Gambino, photo by Jon Williams

    Richard Gambino sees himself as a champion for the homeless. “The homeless population, to some of us, we are family. We form [the] type of bond that if something happens to you, it happens to me.”

    Richard began fighting for the rights of those experiencing homelessness as he was traveling through Indianapolis on his way to Seattle. After a difficult encounter with police officers at the airport, Richard stayed in Indiana to present his experience to the ACLU. This was when Richard found his “true calling.”

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  • Vendor Profile: Norma Gastelum

    by Bri Little | April 4th, 2018
    Norma Gastelum, photo by Jon Williams

    Norma Gastelum has had a rough life, but she’s a fighter.

    She’s originally from Southern California, and as a child she was never in one place for too long.

    “I moved around a lot because I grew up an orphan,” she said. “I grew up in the system and stayed in group homes my whole life. I never got adopted.”

    • Read more about Vendor Profile: Norma Gastelum
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  • Vendor Profile: Lexi

    by Gretchen Schultz | March 21st, 2018
    Lexi, a Real Change vendor who sells in Bellingham

    Lexi is a born survivor. Originally from out of state, Lexi was fleeing domestic violence when she came to Bellingham last summer. To escape her abuser, Lexi planned to meet friends in Canada but was turned away at the border because of a misdemeanor vandalism charge from back when she was a teenager. Just like that, Lexi found herself on the other side of the country with nowhere and no one to go to for help.

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  • Vendor Profile: Darrell Wrenn

    by Mike Wold | March 14th, 2018
    Darrell Wrenn, Real Change News Vendor

    Darrell Wrenn has seen homelessness from both sides. For years before he was homeless, he worked in the criminal justice field — in juvenile detention in Connecticut and as “a patrol officer in Sacramento for four years before our budget got cut.

    It was dangerous at times, but I loved making a difference in the community.”

    “I’ve always had empathy for the homeless. Now I have even more empathy,” including for people with mental health issues. As for his situation, “My issue is just economics.”

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  • Vendor Profile: Dennis

    by Gretchen Schultz | March 7th, 2018
    Dennis, photo by Jon Williams

    “I’ve always thought about it like a license to say ‘Hello,’” says Dennis on selling Real Change. “I mean, how else could you stand there and say ‘Hello’ to 85 people?” Dennis asked, laughing. With a grin almost as endearing as his philosophy, Dennis admits that he “enjoys the act of just saying hello to people just as much as the money.”

    Dennis grew up in Minneapolis. He did machine work and roofing there before he found himself homeless.

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  • Vendor Profile: John Birgen

    by Yemas Ly | February 14th, 2018
    John Birgen, photo by Jon Wiliams

    John Birgen has to wait one more year to apply for Social Security retirement, but he wants to make a change sooner.
    He wants to buy a cheap motorhome to get out of the shelters, drive back to Spokane and try to get his son, who is also homeless, off the streets.

    Born in Bremerton and raised in Puyallup, John had a difficult life. His dad worked in the shipyards in Bremerton before moving to Puyallup, where John attended high school.

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  • Vendor Profile: Joshua Trujillo

    by Mike Wold | February 7th, 2018
    Joshua Trujillo, photo by Jon Williams

    When Joshua Trujillo is selling Real Change, he likes to tell people what it’s about: “Can I interest you with Seattle’s local homeless newspaper, which keeps you informed of what’s going on in your neighborhood, your community at large, with not just the taxpaying citizens but those that are homeless as well?

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  • Vendor Profile: Mark Southworth

    by Gretchen Schultz | January 24th, 2018
    Mark Southworth, photo by Jon Williams

    If one thing is certain, it’s that you won’t have to ask Mark Southworth if he’s “working hard or hardly working.” “I started working when I was 7 years old on a 154 acre dairy farm back in upstate New York. In the summertime it was hot. Winter time? Forget it! You freeze more or less. But I did what I had to up until my dad passed away back in ’65. And then we sold the farm, because that was one of his wishes. He said ‘if anything happens to me the farm goes.’” Mark hadn’t stopped “working hard” until he absolutely had to.

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  • Vendor Profile: Michael Chilson

    by Mike Wold | January 17th, 2018
    Michael Chilson, photo by Jon Williams

    Michael Chilson says he started selling Real Change in 2008 “when I got tired of being a thief. It was the usual things an addict might do, steal from family and friends. I went to jail for a year for stealing a beer. I got tired of going to jail. I wanted to change my life.” He’s done with addiction, except, “I’ve still got to have my coffee, smoke my pot. I’m much happier working and earning money in order to buy things that I need.”

    • Read more about Vendor Profile: Michael Chilson
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