DJ was born in New Jersey but is proud to call Portland home for the past 11 years.
“I grew up in New Jersey, and I love where I am from, but I feel better in Portland than I do anywhere else,” DJ said. “Portland is my home.”
DJ spends a lot of his time around the city, meeting people and spreading the word about Street Roots. He enjoys spending time by the waterfront downtown. A good friend of his, the owner of Cycle Portland, would help him sell the newspaper every other week.
“They are really good people over there; it just goes to show how great Portland is,” DJ said.
Although he is always out and about around town, he has not had a great number of sales since the pandemic. He is hoping to link up with another vendor at a new post so he can work on his sales technique and meet more customers.
While DJ wants to improve his newspaper sales, he has goals as a writer, and an academic background to help. After high school, DJ started college at the University of South Florida. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English.
“I loved that school,” DJ said. “I was walking down the street the other day in Portland, and somebody had a hat on with the USF Bull, and I yelled ‘Go Bulls!’ We both laughed, it was a great moment.”
After college, he spent most of his time editing for a small independent newspaper and reading poetry on the weekends. He loved it. Although, he doesn’t know a lot of people who could make a living off reading poetry.
“For the longest time, I felt like I didn’t have a voice, because there are so many people in this world, and I didn’t know how to find a platform,” DJ said.
DJ has a lot of interest in becoming a member of Street Roots MoJo reporting group. He would love to use his background in writing to spread awareness about issues to the community.
“I’m proud to be a part of Street Roots as a vendor, but I would be so proud to open the newspaper and see an article that I wrote,” he said. “I kick myself, because I love to write, and I want to do it more. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I think I am a good writer. The staff at Street Roots gives me a voice, and I am so grateful.”
He hasn’t had the chance to experience the outdoors in Oregon yet, but he has plans to. DJ wants to visit Crater Lake or Mount Hood soon.
“When I’m outdoors in the wilderness, I feel more connected with myself, and with God,” DJ said.
DJ says that God puts people and situations in his life for a reason. He just needs to try to do the right thing. When DJ follows God’s lead, he says, things will always go well.
“When I connect with nature all alone, and I see the trees and see the mountains and I feel the breeze,” he said. “I can’t believe that no one else is looking. When I’m out there, I want to take all of it in.”
You can buy Street Roots from DJ at Starbucks at 1039 NW Couch Street.
Street Roots is an award-winning weekly publication focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. The newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Street Roots newspaper operates independently of Street Roots advocacy and is a part of the Street Roots organization. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
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