George is a member of our Homeless Speakers Bureau, a group of homeless and formerly homeless people who speak in the community about their personal experiences with homelessness.
I’ve been clean and sober for 22 years now, and I’ve finally moved into my own place this past month, which is something I haven’t had in two decades.
It’s an experience I’ll never forget.
Getting back to where I feel like I’m somebody is the biggest milestone of all. Feeling like I’m somebody. Feeling that I’m worthwhile. Feeling that I can make a difference.
I’m George Sidwell, and for the past seven years I’ve been a Real Change vendor.
I grew up in Yakima and was raised with a strong work ethic. My dad always told me I had to work hard if I wanted to get anywhere.
When I was 16 I went through Job Corps and took up carpentry and cement masonry and graduated with certificates. When I got out, I went to work for five years for a friend who had his own carpentry business before he retired, then I worked for another company.
During that time, I decided that my drinking and drugging was becoming too much of a problem, so I wanted to move and came to Seattle when I was 32.
My sponsor told me that it would be best for me to start a job I’m not used to, where I made less money. Money was really a trigger for me, so I worked at AM-PM mini-mart as a cashier.
I worked there for about 15 months before going back into construction and starting my own business.
About a year before my retirement in 2009, I had some strokes, and my insurance canceled my policy. I didn’t have anything, and I had a bunch of bills stacking up.
About six weeks after I got out of rehab to relearn how to walk, my house burned down.
About six weeks after I got out of rehab to relearn how to walk, my house burned down.
And that’s when I became homeless.
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It was appalling to me, because I had always worked hard, and this wasn’t where I wanted to be. I was raised with the attitude that people are homeless because they want to be, but I found that to be totally different once I was in that position.
Of course it happened when we had the economic upheaval, so a lot of people who were making big money found themselves homeless because they didn’t have any savings when they got fired and couldn’t find a job.
Then there were people who came to help family and thought they’d be able to find a job before they had run out of money.
Then there were people with medical conditions, like me.
I was staying in Nickelsville, a tiny house village, when a friend of mine asked me, “Why don’t you try Real Change?” I said, “Well, I don’t know. You think I could make 15 or 20 bucks a day to cover my basic daily needs?” He laughed a little and said, “Oh, you know, you make what you wanna make. You oughta give it a try.” And I did.
My first day out there, I had bought 20 papers and sold them out within an hour and a half and made $60. That kind of started me onto the track to where I am now.
The camaraderie that I found not with just the customers but also with the staff had helped me a lot.
Real Change came by at a good time. Around 2010, I was really starting to give up on myself. The camaraderie that I found not with just the customers but also with the staff had helped me a lot. I found myself building a community of people around me by selling the newspaper.
I’m currently on the Homeless Speakers Bureau, and what we try to do is help enlighten people about what homelessness is and debunk myths.
I really believe that a lot of insensitive people who feel the way they do are just scared that they might become homeless themselves. They judge and put people into a box just because they’re not there at this point in time.
There are people really out there that don’t want to be, but they are.
The negative attitude makes them feel worthless. It makes them feel like they are not a part of society — separated — like they have some kind of disease. It eats at their hope. After a while, they start giving up because everyone’s saying all these things and nothing is working for them yet, so why even try?
I worked with Real Change on a movie about a day in a vendor’s life back in 2013. The movie is powerful, and you can only do so much with words.
It went to, like, seven different states and won five awards; one of them was from the Social Justice Film Festival here in Seattle. I will always remember that because I spoke when they showed the film, and the next day I got into a room that I rented for three years.
About six months later, I lost my wallet with all my rent money. I remember the owner of the coffee shop next to where I usually sell told me that if I ever needed to borrow $20 to come ask them. So, I told her that I needed $20 to give my landlord at least $100 that night. She said “Well, let’s put it on the West Seattle Blog and see what happens.”
I made my rent money back plus some extra in a day and a half. That’s when I realized that it was community that helps us get through life. If I didn’t have the support from those people, I would’ve been done for.
It’s a proven fact that people who don’t have anything give more than people who do. A lot of that is just because of the fact that they know where we’re at. They’re fighting it themselves.
The Homeless Speakers Bureau is available to any organization, school or business. Host organizations pay a $125 honorarium to Real Change for two speakers. This payment covers $50 for each speaker, plus transportation and food for prep meetings. Speakers may be scheduled two or more weeks in advance of the event. For more information, email [email protected] or call 206-441-3247 x 212.
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