Street roots., January 17, 2014, Page 6, Image 6

Street roots
Jan. 17, 2014
A Culinary
Fundraiser for
A natural
salesman,
with a touch
of mystery
Transition
Projects
S ul
BY ANN-DERRICK GAILLOT
Thursday, February 20
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m..
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
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Urban S t u d i :
935 NW D a v is Ä e t J
T r a n s it io n ^
T ickets a v a ila b le a t
P ro je c ts ■
very morning at 5 a.m., Street Roots
vendor Shaun Followell wakes up,
carefully packs up his gear and heads
to the Starbucks on 15th Avenue and
Fremont Street to sell papers. After a
couple of hours, he hops on the bike he
soupforthesoulpdx.com
Shaun: Followell
CENTRAL CITY
Ending homelessness and
achieving self-sufficiency -
now roasting and distributing
craft coffee.
Available for purchase at:
New Seasons Market
Green Zebra Grocery
Food Front Cooperative Grocery
Chuck's Produce
Call us for office.colle© accounts!
603-784-9263
k CENTRAL CITY
'COFFEE
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lacebook com/CentraiatyCof lee
made himself and rides downtown to the
Street Roots office to pick up more. He
then heads back to Northeast to the New
Seasons at Williams and Fremont to sell
papers again until he sells out or leaves to
go volunteer at Bike Farm, a nonprofit that
focuses oh bicycle education. There he will
fix bikes, sometimes alone, sometimes
sharing his mechanical expertise with an
eager student
“I get a real sense of satisfaction out of
fixing one up and getting it back to where it
works really nicely and looks good and all
th a t” he said. “I enjoy doing it, it’s a good •
project, and lets me kind of fulfill that side
of me, that Creative side.”
Every day Shaun follows this simple yet
full schedule, finding joy in his Customers
and the bikes he builds, even with the ever-
looming threat of unforgiving-weather and
an even more unforgiving job market.
A veteran of the Navy, a land surveyor by
trade, and a skilled bike mechanic, Shaun is
both a people person who will look you
straight in the eye and a man of few words
with an air of mystery about him. Originally
from a small town of about 2,000 people in
Indiana, Shaun has lived in Portland for the
past 12 years, drawn by the city’s natural
splendor.
“The air’s a little bit cleaner here than .
P H O TO B Y COLÈ MERKEL
other places. I breathe better and feel better
here.” He also enjoys Portland for the city’s
small-town feel. “Portland isn’t really, a city.
It’s kind of big for a small town but that’s
really what it is in some ways. I can’t go
anywhere without running into somebody I
know.”
Shaun has been withStreet Roots for only
the past couple of months, but has taken to
it naturally. Despite his dedication to selling
the paper, however, Shaun admits he makes
only enough money to cover his most basic
of needs, such as food.
“It’s fun talking to people though,” he
says with a shy smile. “And it’s a good
paper.”
Before joining Street Roots, Shaun» an
ITT graduate,^says he worked as a land
surveyor and helped build the yellow and
green MAX lines downtown in 2006-7.
Having been a working man for most of his
life, Shaun turned to Street Roots after a
decline in the city’s infrastructure projects
left him struggling to find a steady job.
Despite that, Shaun continues his
mechanical work, both by volunteering at
Bike Farm and reading technical books in
his spare time.
When I press Shaun to tell me what he
would like his profile to tell Street Roots
readers, he thinks for a moment and
answers, “All I can say is thanks for buying
the paper and being a regular supporter.”
As for the future, Shaun’s hopes are
straightforward and earnest.
“My only real hope is thaf I can lift my
income up 3 little higher than it is and kind
of live a little more comfortably.”
If ever you pass Shaun outside his turfs at
New Seasons and Starbucks stop a minute
to say “Hi.”
VENDOR WORK ADS
Bicycle delivery by Farmer Shaun.
Small packages $2 a mile, large loads
$5 a mile. Extreme tasks and
impossible feats on a case-by-case
basis. Ask about bulk rate specials.
971-222-9938.
If you want to learn more about your favorite
vendor, check out the past year of Street Roots
profiles at new s.streetroots.org
Need a worker? Can do almost
anything, light or heavy. References
supplied. $10 an hour, four-hour min.
Ask for Cassidy Morse, 503-228-5657
(SR office), or 503-875-6504 (cell).
Answers to puzzles on page 15
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THE MAGIC IS IN THE HOLE!
2 2 SW 3 R D
& B U R N S ID E
SUPPORTING STREET
ROOTS SINCE 2 0 0 3