When I went to meet and interview Chandler Jacoby one sunny morning, I recognized him from his other sales site on Southwest Broadway and Washington. Like many Street Roots vendors and customers, Chandler and I knew each other by face, but did not know each other’s names.
I would always see him standing outside of Peet’s Coffee each morning as I waited at the No. 15 bus stop across the street. Calm and friendly, he greets passersby, sells the paper, and jokes around with the Peet’s employees he has come to know. Chandler still wishes everyone a nice day, whether people respond or not.
All of this I had seen before Chandler and I ever met formally, so I was surprised when I learned that he mostly likes to keep to himself. “I’m not good at this, making a story for a newspaper,” he told me at our interview, yet he was open and generous with me as we spoke. For someone with the words “by myself” tattooed on his knuckles, Chandler was very friendly and very easy to talk to.
A Portland resident since 2001, Chandler has been selling Street Roots for three months. Committed to selling the paper six days a week, he originally became a vendor to earn some money to cover his basic needs. In the process, he gained sales experience and valuable social skills.
“If they don’t want to buy the paper, I still tell them have a nice day — and I mean it. And people appreciate that. Some people thank me, and sometimes someone will go into Peet’s and come back out and buy a paper from me after they told me no.” Chandler continues to sell the paper even while suffering through extreme back pain, the result of sleeping on the hard concrete. A talented skateboarder, Chandler has now found he must slow down, though he still admits to doing tricks many would not consider easy or risk-free. “I’m old now,” says the 35-year-old Sacramento transplant, “I don’t want to break anything.”
In addition to the struggles of living and sleeping rough, Chandler also regularly faces competition from summer panhandlers.
“What they don’t get is that this is my job. I think of this as my job,” he says, adding that he holds nothing against panhandlers, having been one himself. When Chandler comes to his spot to find someone flying a sign there, he doesn’t confront them, but leaves peacefully, hoping to come back and resume his job there later.
For now, Chandler plans to continue selling Street Roots, a publication he admires for being the only Portland publication to print, “real news, what really matters.” Additionally, he hopes to stay happy, stay positive and stay safe. If ever you see Chandler outside the Broadway and Washington Peet’s Coffee, be sure to say hello. He will be eager to talk to you and, like me, you may end up making a new friend.
