"People don't seem to understand why people are homeless. A person doesn't wake up in the morning and say, "Well, I'm going to be homeless today." It doesn't happen overnight. People go through a series of trials. A lot of companies are downsizing and laying people off. People are losing their jobs, their homes.
"The general public gets upset. They say, 'Get a job, get a job, get a job.' Well, Real Change is a job."
For Vendor of the Week August Mallory, Real Change is not only a job; it's a means of public education. "It's given me an opportunity to get involved in the general public and draw awareness to the issues of homelessness." Mallory's education of the public has not been limited to Seattle.
When street newspaper Street Sense opened in Washington, D.C., Mallory was its first vendor. Later he would travel from city to city, reporting "on the road" about how other cities engage with homelessness. He would share his knowledge about poverty over the crackle and hum of radio waves for the local D.C. station WOL.
Now he works for Real Change, has a part-time job at Qwest Field, and sells Avon products. In his spare time, Mallory enjoys hiking and seeing "how nature interacts with humanity." He also paints still life objects and writes.
Mallory is currently in the middle of two mystery novels, entitled Marvin Hammerman and Russell Jamison. "Hammerman and Jamison are an attorney and a private investigator. They're working together to solve mysteries of people who are homeless who are mysteriously disappearing."
Mallory's writing is available to read at intrepid.gather.com.