When he was a vegan, Jarid Campbell made his own soy milk and tofu at home. He can give a detailed description about the process.
“I’m real picky about food. Now I like macrobiotics when I can get hold of it,” Jarid said. “I feel better when I leave all that other stuff out.”
The same practical approach and ability to explain things served Jarid well in his technical career. He said he earned an electronics certificate in Norman, Okla., by studying “resisters, ICs, capacitors, soldering boards and all that stuff” and went on to work at Advanced Technology Solutions in Oklahoma and Florida, where he fixed printers, copiers, plotters and computers.
At his job, Jarid was the go-to guy.
“There was a lot of tutoring” his co-workers, he said, because “whenever someone couldn’t fix something in the office, they’d bring it to me. After me, they’d have to call someone outside of the office.”
In 2000, Jarid turned his sights on Microsoft and moved to Redmond, Wash.
“I was a software tester. I worked on the Windows Media software,” Jarid said. “I come from a hardware world, so I learned about automation, keyboard shortcuts and programming.”
But things fell apart, including his marriage. He moved back to Oklahoma, worked in the restaurant business for a few years and then moved to Portland in 2006.
In Portland, Jarid was working on a construction job when he injured himself. His injury changed everything.
“In 2007, I was moving what’s called concrete forms,” he said. “Big, thick pieces of plywood used to make concrete walls. They have some of the concrete soaked into them, which makes them heavier.”
He was carrying a form up a muddy hill when he slipped and something gave in his left hip. Now, he said, “the nerve in my leg is getting set off. It’s traveling up and down my spine and whatnot. It can be controlled. Like right now, I’m doing pretty good because I’ve gotten pretty good rest. I’ve got a pretty good routine.”
Jarid has been homeless off and on since his leg injury. Last year, he was paying rent for an apartment that ate up more than 80 percent of his disability check. He was trying to make extra money by delivering pizzas, but his car broke down and then he got a severe infection. He left his apartment to avoid an eviction record, camped for a short while and then turned to shelters.
Now, he is staying at a severe-weather shelter at Imago Dei on Southeast Ankeny Street. The shelter is run by Transition Projects, an organization that provides services to move people from homelessness to housing.
Jarid likes the shelter because it has more room in the sleeping area than others.
“There’s a foot or a foot and a half between the (sleeping) mats. And they give you coffee pretty much all night,” he said. “They wake you up at 5:30 a.m., and then at 6:30 a.m. you have to leave the building. The goal is to stay away from weather as much as possible because exposure can happen after a few hours.”
Jarid is upbeat about Street Roots because he is able to work and still take care of his leg. He sells the newspaper at Stumptown Coffee at Southeast Belmont Street and 34th Avenue.
“Things are moving forward, I know that,” he said. “And before, they weren’t. I was kind of stuck.”
Six months ago, more than 300 people were ahead of Jarid on the waiting list for housing with Transition Projects. Now, he is No. 72 in line, his disability benefits have increased a bit, and he has been able to see a dentist.
“I seem to be prioritizing the transitional shelter and housing over getting a job right now, just because of my health,” Jarid said. “I don’t do very well health-wise while homeless. I do a lot better in an apartment (where) I can get better rest and be a better employee.”
Jarid said his goal is to get back into computers, such as cyber security, “where I make enough to pay rent, have the things I need and a few of the things I want. Maybe even get away from disability.”
Most of all, Jarid said, he is proud to be a survivor.
“I’ve had to do a lot to still be able to walk. (There were) periods of time where I had to make other plans besides walking. I’d really be immobile. That scared me for a while,” he said.
“But I still have some hope.”