'This is my spot'

Outside Safeway in the U-District, students pass by the man sitting by the doors. They've seen the 69-year-old several times and, even more likely, heard him. "Real Change?" he asks, followed automatically with, "Have a great day, sir; have a great day, madam." Known simply as "the Real Change guy" to most, Edward McClain has been sitting at his spot outside the grocery store for 18 years. "Everybody knows me in this area," he said. Before he was "the Real Change guy," McClain was a student, a caseworker, and a cook. He was born in Jackson, Miss., but was raised in Chicago. He has a bachelor's degree in political science and sociology from Northern Illinois University and other credit hours in microeconomics from Concordia University in Canada. He was a caseworker in Minnesota but left the job because he found himself perpetually sick from the environments in which he worked. He also has 30 years of baking and cooking experience. McClain moved from Minnesota to Seattle nearly two decades ago with the intention of reconnecting with his son. When that didn't go as planned and he had partied away all of his money, he found himself homeless. He heard about Real Change and went into the business with two friends. When his friends abandoned the endeavor, he continued. After a few successful months, he realized Real Change was the solution to his problem. "I was homeless for three months, and then I found out I made $1,300 one month [selling papers]," McClain said. "I've never been homeless since." Today, he makes sure he pays the rent first to avoid falling back into the way it was before. "I don't wish homelessness on anybody," he said. McClain is one of 375 independent contractors working on the streets of Seattle for Real Change. The nonprofit calls itself a Homeless Empowerment Project, according to its website. Tim Harris, executive director of Real Change, said they want to give people the opportunity to earn money with dignity. It produces a weekly newspaper that is then sold to employees, many of whom are homeless, for 35 cents each. The employees sell the papers to the public for $1. "These are people who would be doing petty crime, selling drugs, and begging that would lead to jail [without Real Change]," Harris said. McClain said being a Real Change contractor has helped him get to where he is now. "I have everything in my apartment that [students] have," McClain said. "Plus I have a Moped - Real Change paid for all of that." McClain has a 12-year-old grandson, whom he helps support financially. "I buy everything he needs: karate, soccer, swimming, wrestling, you name it," he said. "I pay for all of that." McClain said part of the reason for his success selling the Real Change newspaper is that he has built up a clientele. Each week he purchases 500 papers from Real Change to sell. Real Change sells 18,000 papers each week, Harris said. "You'd be surprised, the people who come just to buy a paper," he said. "Some people drive, they'll stop on their bike, and buy a paper." For McClain, having regular customers makes him feel good about his work. "It kind of acknowledges the fact that they know that I'm here," he said. "Real Change is a business like any other business. If you don't make enough money to support yourself, why do it?" The Lake City resident said part of the reason he has built such a robust group of customers is because of his dedication to the same spot over the past 18 years. When he began working, Real Change had a first-come, first-serve policy about location. This forced McClain to buy out other contractors so that he wouldn't have direct competition. The company has since established a policy that if an employee sells more than 600 papers, they can claim their individual spot. "This is my spot," he said. "Other people can sell papers when I'm not here, but once I come, they must leave." He said that it takes focus, patience, and time in order to achieve economic success. "You're not going to come out here and make a million dollars in one hour," he said. "I wish you could, but that is not going to happen." After 18 years, McClain is still consistently one of the top sellers for Real Change. "Ed is one of our greatest success stories," Harris said. "But there are hundreds of success stories." Employees of Real Change work as their own bosses. For McClain, this means he does not have a set work schedule. However, he said he spends seven days a week sitting in his metal folding chair, usually for 10 to 12 hours per day. "Makes no sense to come sit here and walk away with $10 when I could walk away with $100," McClain said. "I mean I have nothing else to do. Nobody is at home; I don't got any pets I've got to worry about. Nobody is there, so what am I rushing home to? The TV? No, I'd rather have the money." The best part of his job is that there is never a dull moment, McClain said. He said he has seen everything sitting outside the store. "I've seen acts that Hollywood can't reproduce," he said. "Things you wouldn't believe you've seen - I've seen everything here." Sara Osborne, Safeway's public and government affairs director, said the store has had one or two complaints over the years regarding customers disliking McClain's solicitation outside the store, but she said it has been years since they've received a complaint. Osborne said the customers know McClain and the employees get along with him. She said there have been cases in which McClain will chase down shoplifters from Safeway. "[McClain] has been a fixture in the community for a long time," Osborne said. "I think people just know him and expect him to be there and he has rapport with many of the customers." McClain began his work outside Safeway in the beginning of his 50s. Despite being past retirement age now, McClain plans to continue working as long as he is healthy. "I don't want to sit at home and grow old, because you're just going to die quicker," he said. "I want to stay as active, as long as I can, take care of myself. I'm cool in the game with that." The Seattle Coalition on Homelessness counted 2,442 people sleeping on the streets of Seattle last year in its annual One Night Count. Having been one of them, McClain tries to give homeless people in the area advice. He said they're often young kids who have "dropped out of society," and he tries to stress the importance of education to them. "Those who don't have a GED or high-school education, I preach to them constantly. 'You are going to need an education in this society; this is your society, not mine,'" he said, "because I'm on my last leg. I'm not going to be here another 30 years." On the sidewalk next to McClain was a container of macaroni salad. A teenage girl stopped by with a drink, leaving it by his chair. McClain often does this as well - he likes to bake in his spare time and bring food for the employees at Safeway as well as Real Change to show his appreciation. "I don't have the money to give these people, so I go home and I'll bake and say thank you very much for what you did for me; this is a token of my appreciation," he said. "I could never pay the people back who've really been nice to me. There's not that much money in the world, there's not that much gratitude in the world, the only thing I can say is thank you. I try to give a little back." McClain sat outside Safeway in heavy gear for the winter weather, selling the small bundle of papers in his hand. He broke his selling regimen from time to time to say "hello" to a friend. "Bye, bye, little dude," he said, waving to a toddler with blond curls. "Have a great day, madam," he said to the boy's mother. He waits for the next person to cross his path when he will again ask, "Real Change?" Reach reporter Sarah Radmer at features@dailyuw.com. The previous version Jan. 11 printed that Osborne said, "I think people just know him and expect him to be there and he has repertoire with many of the customers," when Osborne said "rapport."

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