Robert Joslin has been selling Real Change since 1998: “Since we started, almost.”
Rattling off a list of store names, he has sold the paper in various neighborhoods around the city: Fremont, Greenwood, Roosevelt, Wallingford, Green Lake, the list goes on.
Robert got his start when he became homeless.
“I lost my place, lost my job, had three cars, had five dogs and a cat in a little Mustang. Had nowhere to go and no job and no future. ... So, I seen the Real Change [man who] said I could sell with my animals, which worked out perfect. So I took them to the stores with me, you know, or wherever we could. I sold at many places, on the freeway and everything. I sell everywhere. Wherever I go, I sell, if I stop there for a minute.”
The flexibility of Real Change fit well with Robert’s schedule and allowed him to thrive as a vendor. When he first became homeless, Robert had three cars. He only has one car now, “but it’s perfect, I put a lot of money into that thing. I was a pizza driver before I came to Real Change, for eight years.”
Sleeping in his vehicles, Robert would move from location to location around Seattle with his animals. People would approach him, he says, and ask him to take in strays because of his experience with cats and dogs, and his willingness to care for all of them.
“We thought we was gonna get into a place, but I guess it ain’t gonna happen, so we’re gonna be back on the street again. But at least we know we went through the program, so we can tell the officers we’re in the program. It’s an eight-year waiting list for people like us ’cause we’re not disabled. When I heard we got animals and I’m not giving ’em up — I could’ve gave them up many times but I ain’t gonna, you know.”
Robert particularly enjoys the flexibility of Real Change because he cares for several animals.
“They call me Noah’s Ark of the RV.” His customers have enabled Robert to stay afloat and have allowed him to better care for his cats and dogs.
“But the people out there at Real Change have been good to me, you know, buy me a can of dog food once in a while. They give me money and everything. It’s pouring down rain, and one day some Google guys came out and gave me 40 bucks. I never had that person give me money before, and he told me, ‘Go home, it’s pouring down rain.’ … The Safeway on Roosevelt, a man came out and gave me $100, ’cause he said everybody was ignoring me, which they were, it was kind of a weird day, to not make money, everybody just walking by, not even saying ‘hi.’ I go through that sometimes, you know, then I move on. I’ll go somewhere else, I don’t stay in one place too long.”
Though his sales locations have varied over the years, Robert currently sells in Fremont.
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