In September, we published a “Street Spirits” profile about one of our vendors, Vernon Dailey. After Vernon’s wife died of cancer, he lost the home that they owned in Vallejo. He spent the next period of his life living unsheltered or staying with family members. At the time of publication, he was looking for housing. We are pleased to report that since his story first ran, he found housing and has moved indoors. Here is a note from Vernon to his customers, who helped him reach his goal.
Hello everyone! I’m Vernon Dailey, a Street Spirit vendor. I took on this job after retiring from Planting Justice, a landscaping company. I returned after becoming disabled, and started living off SSI as well as widower benefits, due to the death of my wife Dona. And I became homeless for some years. But I have housing now, so if you see me with my head down I’m actually jumping with joy. I love selling Street Spirit—my favorite place to sell the paper is outside of Good Earth in Fairfax. Lastly, I’m having some transportation issues. So if you have a car you’d like to donate, here’s my number 510 472-7841. —Vernon
Vernon Dailey is a Street Spirit vendor who sells the paper outside Good Earth in Fairfax and Berkeley Bowl West in Berkeley.