Michael Henderson spends every day of the year on a concrete island surrounded by downtown Seattle traffic. At the intersection of Denny Way and Aurora Avenue, he's got I-5 beneath him, on- and off-ramps to either side and Belltown straight ahead. He spends hours each day hurrying up and down the ramp, selling papers to commuters through their driver's-side window. He'll even stop to make small talk with some of his regular customers; then the light turns green and they're gone, and the next batch of cars rolls up.
It is both impressive and exhausting to witness the spectacle, but it seems to be what works for him. Michael has been at this intersection since he first started selling Real Change four years ago. He figures in that time he's covered 12,000 miles moving back and forth in this spot.
Michael arrived in Seattle only shortly before getting started at Real Change. More than 25 years of commercial fishing in Bristol Bay off the coast of Alaska left him injured and unable to work. That, coupled with a devastating foreclosure on his home in Bremerton, left Michael with few options.
"I was homeless, living under a bridge and flying a sign," he says.
"When someone referred me to Real Change, I came in. I decided I could do this."
Initially, he was hoping to make just enough money to take care of the day-to-day expenses while he was living on the streets. But this side job selling papers has since transformed into a business for Michael -- one in which he gets to decide when he works and where he works, and he gets to be his own boss.
The income from Real Change has been vital to Michael; three years ago, he used his earnings to move into an apartment, and he has lived there ever since.
"It's good being able to have money,"