Hello ladies and gentlemen. I want to tell you the story of how I got from being a kid in the 60s to making my childhood dreams come true by selling this newspaper.
I grew up in the Greater Bay Area, keep in mind this is the rollin’ 60s. First came the prostitution, then came drug dealers. I tried to smoke cigarettes when I was 13, but it hurt my throat so I didn’t smoke. Of course I tried alcohol but it wasn’t for me, I saw how it did people. I tried a line or two, but that had me too nervous. Never again would I try anything like that. So now it’s been 50 years clean. I just wanted to be different. You know how some people say that we’re cut from the same cloth? Well, I was cut from a different fabric.
It’s almost like I had a premonition: I saw myself writing, I saw myself speaking from a podium. And this job has helped me fulfill my premonition. In the last few years, I have spoken at many Street Spirit fundraisers. I have to admit, Planting Justice was the first organization that actually made me a public speaker. But the experience at Street Spirit put the icing on the cake.
You know I advocate for Street Spirit, they never turn they back on me. I’ve had organizations that have turned on me after I put in the footwork, and it feels like they get all the credit and I get a slap in the face. I won’t throw them under the bus, that would be a story of another color. So, on to bigger and better things: Why I love Street Spirit so much is because they save my life, just by listening to my story. They let me tell my own story. Being able to tell my story helped me get an automobile and helped me get a place to stay.
In May of 2022, I put a story in the paper that talked about how I was looking for a car. A young couple who bought my paper read that story. They were engaged to be married: He was 21 and she was 22. After reading my story, they walked down to Berkeley Bowl and told me they wanted to give me the car. I believed them, but I also didn’t know what to think. It probably took me a couple of days to really process the gift they were giving me. We went back to their place and they signed it over to me, gave me the pink slip, and handed me the keys. It was a gold Honda CRV. And it had some damage from an accident, but we called the junk yard and they were able to find a door that matched the color exactly, gold. So it was like there was never an accident at all. It was perfect. They took the raggedy door off and put the new door on and that was it.
After writing about my struggles to find housing, my customers encouraged me to try out different resources. So that led to me going down to Saint Mary’s Center and with their help, I filled out a housing application which led to me receiving housing. I started working on outreach with Saint Mary’s, and then I became the one who was helping homeless people with housing resources, giving out hygiene kits, and stuff like that. By me being in the same situation, I wanted to give back. I know how it feels to be in that situation, and they was relating to me a little bit more than they were to some of my coworkers.
It’s not always so easy. One day while I was selling newspapers, this guy walked up and said, “No thank you, I don’t believe in nothing that they say in the paper. You know what I mean?” So I said, “No I don’t know what you mean! In fact, I have an article in the March issue on page 5.” I told him that you can write for the paper in your own words. And with that being said he bought the paper. Another time a gentleman drove up and asked me, “How much money do you make doing this with a car like that?” And I had to explain, I’m not a scammer. I sell newspapers with a legit ID badge.
Sometimes we need to explain to help people know what’s going on. I don’t always get the nicest response, but I believe people just have to be educated so they understand what we are all about. I follow the 10 rules for Street Spirit vendors (which are on the back of every badge). Number one says to always be positive and respectful to the public while selling the newspaper. So I guess the moral of the story is, sometimes a negative response turns into a positive experience.
Everything isn’t peaches and cream out there. But to my brothers and sisters and coworkers that are homeless, I hope and pray that you too receive housing. God bless us all, and may we find peace. Take care.
Vernon Dailey is a Street Spirit vendor who sells the paper outside Good Earth in Fairfax and Berkeley Bowl West in Berkeley.