Real Change vendor Mike Henderson: “I’m the little guy you see at Denny and Aurora.”

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One hundred years ago, Seattle workers ran the city themselves

by Whitney Kahn | February 13th, 2019

COMMENTARY

On a chilly day some 100 years ago, 35,000 Seattle dock workers walked out in an action that would lead to the first general strike (a strike of all workers in an area) anywhere in the United States.

Inspired by the Russian revolution and a wave of post-war rebellions around the world, workers across Seattle would completely shut down the city for five days in February of 1919 in solidarity with the dockworkers. It was more than a protest. Over five days, working people in Seattle ran the city democratically based on human needs, rather than for profit.

Vendor Week: Learning the art of the deal

by Brett Hamil | February 13th, 2019

Comedian Brett Hamil shares his experience selling Real Change with Art Ermeloff

On February 6, I participated in my second Real Change Day of Heroes, in which community members are paired with a vendor-mentor to sell papers in the streets of downtown Seattle.

My vendor-mentor was the soft-spoken Art Ermeloff, with kind eyes and a bushy salt-and-pepper mustache. Last year it was Steve, a tall, affable man who pitched his papers to passersby in a booming voice.

Vendor Week: Smile, wave, make eye contact

by Hanna Brooks Olsen | February 13th, 2019

Columnist Hanna Brooks Olsen shares her experience selling Real Change with Yemane Berhe

There were still little clumps of snow around downtown and I found myself marveling at the fact that everyone in Seattle seemed to have acquired an ankle-length down coat in the last 48 hours.

I tried out a few lines, brandishing Real Change papers to people headed to lunch.

“You look dapper today, sir! Buy a paper?”

“That’s a very fetching hat, ma’am! Interest you in a paper?”

None of it worked. One after another, pedestrians shooed me away without a glance. Some mustered a weak smile. It was jarring to be so thoroughly ignored by my fellow human beings.

Director's Corner: Selling the paper is often harder than it looks

by Tim Harris | February 13th, 2019

Last week, I joined some of Real Change’s better known friends for the Real Change Day of Heroes, where local celebrities paired up with vendors for two hours to sell our paper and bring attention to the hard working people who do this every day.

The Day of Heroes also highlights the International Network of Street Papers, the global organization of more than one hundred papers like Real Change across 35 countries. During #VendorWeek, papers all over the world participate in the event.

What you need to know about the storm and how it’s affecting people experiencing homelessness in Seattle

by Ashley Archibald | February 13th, 2019

How big is this storm?
Big. The storm is expected to impact all of western Washington, dumping an average of 4 to 6 inches of snow in the Seattle area, with winds up to 45 miles per hour. Temperatures are at or below freezing and could drop further. “We’re not even seeing the coldest air,” Kirby Cook, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Real Change.

Book Review: ‘Homo Deus, A Brief History of Tomorrow’

by Joe Martin | February 13th, 2019

Will techno-humanism be our eventual savior?

Is the geologic epoch of our time — the Anthropocene — the stage for another sweeping biological extinction or will it be an exhilarating prelude to an era during which evolving science and technology bestow upon humankind an astonishing beneficence of progress, peace and prosperity?

Vendor Shawn Wilson credits Real Change for his personal growth

by Bridget Mountain | February 13th, 2019

Shawn Wilson is one of those people who you can’t help but smile around. Wilson oozes a charisma that is contagious. Even battling through pain, Wilson never lets it show while selling at Crown Hill Safeway. “With what our city is going through with our homeless crisis, it is way more important for me to be selling and bringing awareness to this population — instead of me focusing on my pay,” Wilson said.

We're still here: Art exhibit shows creativity flourishes in those living with dementia

by Lisa Edge | February 6th, 2019

When dementia and all its various forms are discussed, it is often enveloped in a tone of sadness and a sense of longing for what used to be. Memory loss can be challenging for those who are grappling with it as well as for their loved ones. Marilyn Raichle understands this struggle quite well. Her mother, Jean, lived with Alzheimer’s for 16 years before passing away in 2015. To keep her active, Raichle took Jean to a class hosted by Elderwise, a nonprofit organization offering enrichment programs for people with memory loss.

Being Jewish when hate, once again, runs amok

by Ashley Archibald | February 6th, 2019

New York Times’ Washington editor’s book chronicles the global rise of anti-Semitism

“I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”

According to authorities and the 63 indictments he faces, Robert Bowers — a 46-year-old White man with a history of racist, anti-Semitic online comments — posted these words on the message board site Gab before entering the Tree of Life Synagogue armed with two handguns and a rifle and murdering 11 people.

Real Change

RC's new vendor program manager is happy to return to help her hometown

by Rebecca Marriott | January 30th, 2019

At the beginning of 2019, I started in a new role as the vendor program manager at Real Change. I remember reading the job listing and thinking this position was an opportunity for yet another homecoming for me. I began reading Real Change around 1997. My father always kept a copy in the back seat of his car. I eventually got to meet his vendor. They were on a first name basis and had a lot of mutual respect. As a former journalist himself, my dad stressed the importance of getting your news, and thinking about issues, from as many perspectives as possible.
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Director's Corner: We’re finding new ways to help vendors succeed and find community

by Tim Harris | January 30th, 2019

Real Change has never been an easy organization to define. We’re a nonprofit, and yet we’re a business. We help people in need to survive and thrive, but we’re not a human services agency. We create work for about 700 vendors each year, but we’re not a jobs training program.
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The city of Burien creates a new way to deal with low-level infractions with community court

by Ashley Archibald | January 30th, 2019

The city of Burien is launching a new community court to offer people charged with low-level misdemeanors an alternative to the traditional criminal justice system.
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Real Change

Reporter's Notebook: unused federal credits, open council seats and ballot propositions

by Ashley Archibald | January 30th, 2019

Get your money
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The annual point-in-time count on an unseasonably warm night

by Ashley Archibald | January 30th, 2019

It felt warm for January in Seattle. People were marveling at it, even joking about it, but at 4 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 25, it didn’t much matter. The fact that Seattle’s clime felt unusually moderate was likely cold comfort for the man wrapped in blankets sleeping underneath Interstate 5.

He wasn’t trying to hide, but it was still hard to see him in the dim light. Michael George, a candidate running to replace Councilmember Sally Bagshaw in District 7, noted his presence on a form attached to a clipboard.
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First Thursday Guide for Feb. 7, 2019

by Lisa Edge | January 30th, 2019

On the first Thursday of every month hundreds of people head to Pioneer Square to view the latest art shows. Seattle’s oldest neighborhood is home to dozens of galleries and first Thursday is when they often showcase new exhibitions and artists from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Parking is free for artwalk visitors at Frye Garage (117 3rd Ave S) Butler Garage (114 James Street) 450 Alaskan (450 Alaskan Way - entrance on King Street). Here are a few shows you may want to check out on Feb. 7.
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Once a national model, Utah struggles with homelessness

by Gregory Scruggs | January 30th, 2019

Once lauded as a leader among United States cities struggling to relieve homelessness, the number of people sleeping rough in Utah’s capital has spiked in the past two years, as funding for its ground-breaking housing program dried up.

U.S. Homelessness is on the rise for the second year in a row, according to a December report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The increase has been particularly noticeable in Utah, which had reduced chronic homelessness by 91 percent over the decade up to 2015, according to the state’s annual homelessness report.
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Real Change

The Middle Ground by Sam Day 1/30/19

by Sam Day | January 30th, 2019

Contact Sam Day at sam@samday.com
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Get set for the next shutdown by putting pictures of pyramids on your bank notes

by Dr. Wes Browning | January 30th, 2019

Adventures in Irony is a weekly dry verbal romp of the absurd.

So, we’ve got a three-week reprieve until Trump’s next government shutdown. Let’s take these next few of weeks to consider the president’s suggestion as to how federal employees forced to work without pay can get by. It is brilliant. He says: Remind your local grocer you’ve been their customer for years. They’ll gladly give you food for IOUs. You’re good for it, you have a federal job, they know that. They know they’ll get their money eventually.
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Real Change vendor Mike Henderson: “I’m the little guy you see at Denny and Aurora.”

by Bridget Mountain | January 30th, 2019

When Mikey Henderson was first introduced to Real Change, he was living under the freeway on Sixth and Columbia. “People would panhandle, especially something called ‘flying,’ where they use signs. They stand there all day and it’s a way to get money. But I didn’t feel right about that because I was uncomfortable with how people looked at you and asked ‘Why don’t you get a job?’” said Henderson. “I’m kind of one of the quiet or shy type of people.”
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