Faces Of Real Change: Scott Landauer

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Faces of real Change – Interviews At first, Scott Landauer is nervous. He sits across from me, shy, barely making eye contact, forearms crossed, guarding his chest. It took some convincing to get him in the interview. I ask him why. “My story is nothing special,” he says, shrugging. Almost all the vendors feel this way. Just regular people, who have fallen on hard times, or maybe never knew anything different. in this sense, none of us are special. But then, that is being human. And bringing humanity to the face of homelessness is what real change is about. The message is startling, but not new. Anyone could be in Scott’s shoes, alternating between sleeping in his truck and on a worn mat shared by a number of others in a shelter. Battling…show more content…
As if merely looking at the homeless is shameful. “It gets lonely—it’s nice to have someone say hello, and smile. I look for that interaction more now that I’m homeless.” Scott says Scott says this, pointing out how selling the paper is not only beneficial financially, but socially as well. A regular customer becomes a familiar face. Suddenly the question of “How are you?” is sincere, and then more meaningful. There are long silences while Ill talk to Scott. I did not approach him with any preconceived questions. I was hoping just to talk to him and get some insight on the paper and being homeless. Normal questions like “What caused your homelessness?” seem almost corny, and make me feel like a social worker, which Im not yet..lol. Rarely is there a simple answer to that one, anyway. But Scott is perceptive, and asks me if I want to know about his current position. The interview is just about who you are, I tell Scott. Just so my class gets a glimpse of the person and how real change has impacted your life.. We can talk about your homelessness, if you want. He just nodded and was like…show more content…
SEATTLE — Ed McClain, a Real Change newspaper salesman who for years was a practically stationed in front of the Safeway in the University District of Seattle , died Friday, the newspaper reported on their Facebook page. McClain was 69. He sold newspapers at his position outside the grocery store at Brooklyn Avenue for more than 18 years. According to the University of Washington Daily, McClain was born in Jackson, Miss., and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from Northern Illinois University. He studied cuisine in Europe for more than 30 years, before returning to the United States in 1994. Homeless, McClain sold Real Change newspapers and became one of the organizations top sellers. Known for his long hours in front of the Safeway door, McClain would greet potential customers with the question, “Real Change, sir?” When customers walked passed, he often told them to “Have a nice day.” Founded in 1994, Real Change was conceived as "Puget Sounds's newspaper of the poor and homeless." About four years ago, Real Change dropped the "poor and homeless" tagline. In addition, they added two journalists to the staff, rather than relying so much on volunteers. That way, they could maintain higher

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