Founded in 1994, Real Change has a circulation of 12,000. Last year, hundreds of people took a turn selling the paper, but about 150 were regulars, said Danina Garcia, vendor outreach coordinator. "It's not an easy job," she said. Vendors buy the paper for 35 cents from the publisher and sell copies for $1, keeping the difference.
Vendors wear photo ID badges and must agree to a code of conduct. A little over half of them are homeless; many of the rest are formerly homeless.
Inside the ad-supported paper, articles challenge stereotypes about low-income people, life in shelters, homelessness and poverty. One recent story examined what happens to homeless peoples' belongings when they are arrested. One feature logs police reports involving street people.
Outside a downtown bakery, Gordon Mars clutched copies of the paper and pined for holiday sales.
"Sales were better in December," he said. "I made at least $100 a day. Saved some money."
Mars said his legs were banged up on a North Pacific fishing boat. He lives in low-income housing and peddles Real Change five days a week, two to three hours a day.
"We're vendors. We're not panhandlers," he said. "We're working."
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stuart.glascock@latimes.com
