It’s pretty fundamental – the lower your Street Sense vendor number, the longer you’ve been with the organization. Take for instance, Patricia Henry, whose vendor number is No. 11. Henry has been with Street Sense since the beginning, selling papers, and more recently, lending a much-needed hand in the office to edit the publication. “I was helping out at the National Coalition for the Homeless when Street Sense started,” said Henry, who has previously lived in New York and Boston. Henry was attracted to the mission of Street Sense because of her background in activism. “It’s public education about homelessness,” she said. And, of course, selling papers to make some money also plays a role. “It’s a source of income,” she added. Sometimes, the realities of life interfere with the selling of the paper, but she perseveres. “I haven’t sold as many as I could because of the problem of getting basic needs services,” Henry said.
Some of Patricia’s favorite things:
Movie: “When I was a young New Yorker, I used to go to the movies often on weekends. Double-headers were $2.50. “2001” must have been my favorite since I saw it several times for its beautiful outer space photography.”
Book: “Also when I was a young New Yorker, I lived in charming buildings or apartments which I decorated myself, but they were small and not especially comfortable for reading and holding books. But the autobiographical books of Thomas Wolfe were very readable, and I read them all on the kitchen table.”
Food: “ When I lived in Brooklyn Heights, I used to go over to the mid-eastern area and buy loaves of pita bread to make cucumber, tuna or cheese sandwiches for work, and I’d usually get some baklava also.”
