Vendors
Page 6
VENDOR PROFILE
Life
By Eileen Vizenor
Elijah Michel
Life
Is
For
Everyone
BY LEONORA KO
S T A F F W R IT E R
E
Choose i t
Answers to puzzles on page 15
IN V 3 ±
0 N a o
d a V H
S
1 N 3 d
a V 1 V
V a 1 N
it ± S
à i S
a n 0 H
□ o H ±
a
o i a n
V T o 0
i V a a
I
Z
L
9
6
9
P
V
8
8
V
P
6
8
8
Z
9
L
9
s
d
s
1
a
0
i
a
i
s
3
V
IN
9
8
8
L
9
L
P
6
Z
I
I n
3 d
A V
a a V □
N i d
3 s
3
S
a T
s i V
T V n 1
3 a o S
1 V M
O d
N
3 a
s 1 n
8
3 N
Á V IN
Is a 3
F
8
8
Z
L
P
V
6
9
9
lijah Michel has a drive for hard work
and happiness, and it’s paying off in
Portland.
“I work in a survey place,” Elijah said
with a big smile. “After about two weeks of
(working as a temp), the boss just offered
me a job. She was like, ‘I love your attitude.
I like your presentation. You want to work
here?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely. I love
this place.’”
Elijah was born and raised in a small
beach town in the Florida panhandle.
“I grew up with a pretty rough
childhood, and I’ve had a lot of crappy
stuff happen to me,” he said. “I was
pretty much raised by my dad. He
wasn’t around much when I was a
k id .... It basically was me and my
brother fending for ourselves as
children.
“But one of the things my
dad did teach me was:
Whatever situation
you’re in, do what
makes you happy to
the biggest extent
that you can.”
In Florida, Elijah
worked in
customer service
jobs, including
one as a general
manager at
Domino’s
Pizza.
“That was a
blast,” Elijah
said. “I was 19
years old, and I was
the youngest general
manager in central
Florida. I pretty much
6
V
9
9
Z
8
8
P
L
a
0
A
i
s
3
O
N
[v 1
a 1
N V
n X
i 3
o
a 1
1
i 1
IN 0
H 0
i s
s 1
1 3
1
P
9
L
8
6
9
Z
L
8
3 3
0 V
0 □ s
3
a
i
d
0
i
a
1 d
0 d
1 0
H
i a
a i
3 V
3 H 0
S V o
s V a_
8 L 9
9 6 Z
i 8 P
P Z 9
L I 8
9 8 6
8 9 Z
Z 9 8
6 P I
o
CENTRAL CITY
Street Roots • Oct. 28-Nov. 3, 2016
got thrown into the position while we were
waiting for a guy from corporate, but I
ended up running the store for almost a
year. I did a great job, got some of the best
numbers.”
But his childhood experiences caught up
with him, and he went through a period of
severe depression and drinking.
“I taught myself at a very young age to
sort of turn emotions off. But after a while,
that stopped working for me because you
can only turn off what you’re feeling for so
long.
“I took a step back to look at my life and
at the things that were making me
depressed. (I asked myself) how can I either
remove what’s making me feel that way or
change how I feel about
what’s making me feel that
way?”
jjL This September,
Elijah came to
| Portland. At first,
Elijah was
overwhelmed, but he
j drew once more on
I his inner resources.
“I don’t
have the time in my life to . sit around and
feel bad about the things that have
happened to me,” he said. “All I’ve got time
to do is move forward and make the best
out of every situation that I can.”
He estimates he walked 4 or 5 miles a
day looking for a shelter and a job when he
arrived. Elijah found both, along with
scheduling conflicts.
“The first job I got here I wasn’t able to
keep because I didn’t get back to the shelter
until almost 1 in the morning every night
And we have to wake up at 6 a.m. So getting
about five hours of sleep a night was not
good for me.”
Elijah persevered, and upon finding the
survey job and Street Roots, he was
relieved.
“It feels like I’ve opened a new door for
myself that wasn’t there for me before,” he
said.
Elijah sells Street Roots at Lovejoy
Bakers on Northwest 10th Avenue and
Lovejoy Street. He used his first paper
earnings to take care of himself: “I bought a
new sketch book and got some shampoo,
face scrub and body wash. I took a shower,
and it felt amazing. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I
feel clean. I’m not itchy. I feel so good right
now.’
With his first paycheck, he
bought lunch for his homeless
; friends.
■F “It felt good because I had
J absolutely nothing when I
i came here,” he said. “And I
was helped out by so many
p other people who also had next
to nothing.”
HR
His next ste p is to find
permanent housing, and he has a
H promising lead. He said seeing
jBother Street Roots vendors get
- housing has inspired him.
“I’m very determined,” Elijah
said. “Street Roots has helped me
jaccess that determination and just
¡push it even farther.
™ “I’m trying for a happy ending, and
I’m getting closer and closer to that goal.”
Holistic • Self-Empowerment
Physical & Emotional Well-Being
Curiosity ♦ Engagement »Choice
COFFEE
SD/M-vtiL ¡DoytML
Sourcing & roasting craft coffee to
benefit programs at Central City Concern.
IN STORES
New Seasons Market, Whole Foods, Food Front
Cooperative Grocery, Green Zebra, Chuck's
Produce and Will Leather Goods.
AT YOUR OFFICE
Interested in serving Central City Coffee at yo ur
office? Get in touch w ith us and we can help you
make th a t happen. 503.226.7387
"Nothing happens until
something moves." -
Albert Einstein
ON OUR WEBSITE
Buy Central City Coffee online and have it
shipped directly to you o r a friend.
Intentergy
(888} 391-5059
SE Portland Office
Follow o u r Facebook page fo r updates and specials.
centralcitycoffee.org facebook.com/CentralCityCoffee coffee@ccconcem.org
conscious-intent@outlook.com
Veterans/Military/EMS personnel
Sliding scale {first session, free)