John is proud that Tabetha is selling Street Roots, and she is grateful for her dad's support
John and Tabetha Smith are a father-daughter vending team.
John has been a vendor for about a year. He sells at the Starbucks across from the Pixie Project, a nonprofit animal rescue center between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Northeast Grand Avenue.
“They walk their dogs right by Starbucks; I get to meet all the dogs,” he said. “I like the drive-thru because I get to meet so many people. The regulars take care of me and get me coffee, make sure I eat.”
John got Tabetha signed up for Street Roots about a month ago. She shares the Starbucks spot and sometimes sells at the Starbucks drive-thru a few blocks north.
“I like telling customers my daughter is selling at the other drive-thru,” John said.
John has an interesting story to tell about one of his customers.
“My picture was in the paper that week, and a woman came back with a sandwich and a cup of coffee for me,” he recalled. “She said she just wanted a chance to see what it was like to sell the paper. So I ate my sandwich while it was hot, and she sold papers. Three of them. She’d been buying papers for years, and I guess she just wanted to see what it was like. She still buys papers from me.”
John was born in Fresno, and moved up to Oregon to raise his family. He worked in the fishing industry in Newport.
“I remember it was real stinky, but he liked it,” Tabetha said. “Me and my brother would go down and meet him when he got off work and go to the saltwater taffy shop across the street. They still hand-pull the taffy there. It’s one of my favorite places.”
Tabetha’s story started two years ago when she had an addiction relapse and was evicted.
“I spent 13 months homeless. During that time I was canning to support myself and my dog. I finally got into a place, but I was still spending lots of time canning to pay my power bill. But cans were drying up. I was getting soaked, and it was too cold. I decided to start at Street Roots to keep up on the bills.”
It’s been a struggle to work with her medical issues, but Tabetha said Street Roots allows her the freedom to do what she needs for her health and still pay her bills by selling papers.
“Selling papers is quite interesting,” Tabetha said. “Me and my dad meet at Street Roots and then take the MAX over. At first, no one said anything to me, but now everybody smiles at me because I’m there every day.”
John suffers from depression, but he said Street Roots has helped.
“I’ve come a long ways with it. Sometimes it’s hard to sell papers when you’re depressed, but I try to keep an ‘up’ spirit. Working the drive-thru really helps. It makes me feel wanted. Before selling Street Roots, I was just wandering the streets. Now I’m self-sufficient. I can take care of myself. It makes a big difference in my life,” John said.
Tabetha is grateful her dad is in her life.
“I won’t come downtown without my dad there,” she said. “There’s so much meth downtown; that’s what my relapse was. My dad is my sober buddy. He doesn’t have any issues with meth, so I don’t need to worry about getting triggered.”
“I’m proud my daughter is selling Street Roots,” John said. “She was canning a lot, having to dig down in, not the greatest idea. With Street Roots you can stay clean and meet all kinds of people.
“She saw her dad doing all right. I’m never broke now; I always have a few dollars in my pocket. And she’s done good starting out.”
Street Roots is an award-winning, nonprofit, weekly newspaper focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. Our newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
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