Vendor Stories | Real Change

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In Memoriam: Jamie Tilton

By Ashley Archibald | July 24, 2019

Jamie Tilton was feeling good.

She’d finally gotten housing after a domestic violence incident left her homeless. She was able to take better care of herself now that she was housed. Tilton was able to manage her juvenile rheumatory arthritis, a chronic condition that had plagued her since childhood, which left her in constant pain. ...
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Real Change vendor Laura Ditsch doesn’t let impaired vision slow her down

By Bridget Mountain | July 17, 2019

It takes determination to advocate for the same thing for 30 years. But that is exactly what Laura Ditsch has done. Ditsch began advocating for people experiencing homelessness in 1989 in upstate New York when she was 21 years old. Today she is the Real Change advocacy department’s rep on the Vendor Advisory Board. ...
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Remebering Real Change vendor Steven McCausey

By Ashley Archibald | July 10, 2019

When you ask people who knew him about Steven McCausey, one of the first things they mention is his smile.

“He always stood out there with Real Change and smiled,” said Carol Allen, who works in the Seattle-King County Public Health office where McCausey sold the paper. “Even if it was raining, he was out there with Real Change.”

McCausey died unexpectedly at age 60. He’d been a Real Change vendor since 2010 and was known in the office for his kindness and effort to make other people feel comfortable and secure in the community he had found. ...
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Real Change is an essential part of vendor Matthew Wilson’s emotional survival

By Mike Wold | July 3, 2019

Matthew Wilson was a mental health ombudsman working for King County when a stroke changed his life. “I loved that job, helping people with their therapist, doctor, health center that they feel stuck with. ‘This is so-and-so’s difficulty. Is there some way we can work it out for them?’” Matthew had a degree in Jungian psychology and neuro-linguistic programming. “I knew what I was doing,” he says. “A lot of time, they come back and say, ‘I want you to be my therapist, not just my advocate.’” ...
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Toledo Streets vendor Shaun ’Rooster’ Tinch follows five maxims daily

By Claire McKenna | June 26, 2019

It was a rainy Monday afternoon when Shaun “Rooster” Tinch finally acknowledged that he understood exactly why we work hard every day to help people feel looked after here at Toledo Streets. I explained to him that he is family and cared for here. He smiled back at me and said, “I know that now.” ...
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Selling Real Change has given Patrick Lynch freedom to pursue his dreams

By Camilla Walter | June 19, 2019

Patrick Lynch doesn’t like to use the term “homeless” to refer to people. He prefers the term “a state of permanent or temporary displacement.”

The only reason he uses the term “homeless” is because people know what it means. As a vendor, Patrick works to open people’s minds and foster understanding across class lines. ...
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Vendor Profile: Candy Ream

By Bridget Mountain | June 12, 2019

The first time Candy Ream set foot out of Washington state was when she moved to Louisiana with her husband Zead, almost 11 years ago.

The last thing she wanted to do was move back to Seattle from Louisiana. But in 2017 things changed. “My brother got killed on a bike and we came up for the funeral and just got stuck here,” Ream said. “He was riding a bike and he got hit from behind and flew over the handlebars. He didn’t make it through the brain surgery.” ...
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In Memoriam: David Rice

By Bridget Mountain | June 5, 2019

David Rice died once before.

In 1983, he was thrown off the Pike Street bridge over Interstate 5. When he arrived at the hospital, he was dead. Doctors thankfully brought him back, but he was in a coma for four months. He had to relearn how to do everything. “The doctor told me that they threw a sandbag over the railing to see how fast I hit the ground. It was 90 feet down and 60 mph,” Rice said.

At the end of May, David Rice passed away again. And this time doctors couldn’t save him. ...
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Vendor Profile: Daniel Long

By Bridget Mountain | May 29, 2019

Daniel Long has always been a leader. From serving on Real Change’s Vendor Advisory Board to helping with the leadership team at the shelter where he was staying.

When Long moved back up to Seattle from Texas, he didn’t have a lot of places to go. He had grown up in the foster care system, living in 21 homes all over the state of Washington. He decided to move to Seattle because he figured he’d have more resources. “If anything, it’s a big city and I can get my foot in the door. I thought the bigger the city, the better the job,” Long said. ...
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Real Change vendor Walter Kozbiel is walking towards a goal

By Bridget Mountain | May 22, 2019

Walter Kozbiel has big dreams and many goals. His current goal is to walk more than 66 miles in one day, which would break the world record. “I feel like I could break that record. Maybe even walk 72 or 73 miles,” Kozbiel said. Although he’s walked in cities all over the country, he’s walked around Seattle for — to borrow lyrics from Billy Joel — “the longest time.” ...
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