With lessons learned from time unhoused, Gary Barker strives to support others
I came back to life in a time of trouble.
It was 2019, and I was sitting in my apartment on Sandy Boulevard, out of my mind, and frankly, near death. I was tied up in a hell of my own doing. My life was upside down and without any sense of direction.
A surprise knock at my door jolted me into the present. My ex-wife stood in the doorway, determined to help me back to life. I did not know how to act or what to say to her, but she was there. She was there for me.
She came prepared with a moving van and a rented storage unit awaited my things. I was scared about moving, but God, it saved my life. Things didn’t work out with my ex-wife, and I was on the streets within days.
I was cold and someone stole my bags. I was upset about what happened and how things turned out. My life was a mess, but sleeping outside, I slowed down on the drugs.
Finally, my ex-wife started talking to me again. One day, she said to me: “Would you get out and do something already? Go sell Street Roots or something.”
So I went there, got oriented as a vendor, and started selling the newspaper. On my first day selling, I made $160.
I thought selling the paper for Street Roots was a great thing to do. When I was selling, people would ask me questions about myself, so I started talking, and it made me feel good about what I was doing with my life.
I started getting better and better. I was still living outside when 2020 came and the pandemic hit. While the world was falling apart around me, my life, in some sense, seemed to be coming together. I got off the streets.
I’m still housed but still going through trials. Being on the streets gave me a great outlook on life that I can’t forget, so thank you, God.
I was still working at Street Roots, which came up with a plan to stay open during the pandemic by finding creative ways to offer cash assistance to vendors. The “action team” was formed, and we as vendors passed out supplies to folks living outside. The outreach performed by the “action team” led to the formation of the ambassador program.
In August 2020, the day came when Street Roots started publishing and selling the paper again. Street Roots gave me a chance to get on my feet by being the first lead ambassador of the new ambassador program. The program was a big success. Of the 10 ambassadors in the first cohort, six of them started working in jobs outside of Street Roots that paid a living wage. I wasn’t one of the six, but that leads to where I am today with Street Roots.
I’m still housed but still going through trials. Being on the streets gave me a great outlook on life that I can’t forget, so thank you, God.
My drug addiction and trying to be responsible at the same time is what my life consists of being indoors. Change from being outdoors is sometimes scary and frightening. There have been changes and new rules I have to follow, but that's okay. They help all the people that I'm surrounded by. I have managed to maintain a good life and stay focused enough to do what I need to do.
I manage to find a way to get problems off my mind by reading something positive or listening to music. I do other things that make me happy about what I’m going through. Life is full of fears and insecurities, so one of the most important things I have learned is to walk through them — it works better for me than running from them.
I am so grateful to God to resolve the tension and aggression and give me a chance to get my life going in the right direction.
I am currently working as the MoJo coordinator with Street Roots. I am part of writing the curriculum for the Street Roots School of MoJo and Communications. I ran the pilot cohort, and it was a hit. Now the real deal is starting — a 30-week program covering everything from reporting, to fact-checking, to writing, to video production.
As of now, I work with the editor in chief of Street Roots, K. Rambo, who operates the editorial department. Rambo is helping guide me in the right direction so I can learn how to work my program into a greater benefit for Street Roots vendors.
I was a vendor, and now I work hard at giving back by working with vendors who would like to experience the world of journalism and communications to determine if this field is for them. They’re learning skills to make them more employable, regardless of the career path.
It’s been a challenge for me, and it's been hard, but it's been fair.
MoJo is co-designed with the love and care of an instructor from Portland Community College, Mary Ann Funk. We put our heads together and we saw the same vision.
It was very challenging for us, but we came up with a full curriculum and program that will educate Street Roots vendors about journalism, communications and storytelling.
I look forward to seeing MoJo grow, but it's bigger than me and larger than life.
With the help of people who are in the journalism and communications field, we will grow into a full school and so the journey begins to a new future for Street Roots.
Gary Barker is the MoJo Coordinator at Street Roots.
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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