| Regi moves around regularly, but he often sells the paper at 18th and H Streets. |
Click Here to view Regi’s resume.
A native Washingtonian, Reginald has been selling the paper for about three months.
After his mother died when he was eight, Reginald’s father took charge of raising him. Reginald attended Anacostia Senior High School and graduated from the Potomac Job Corps with a high school degree in accounting.
After graduating, Reginald had a number of part–time jobs, including a stint as a door–to–door salesman, but no steady source of income.
Tensions built up between father and son, to the point that the house became too small for both of them. In 2007, Reginald’s father asked him to leave. They have not spoken since that day.
Reginald finds moral comfort and spiritual guidance by attending weekly services at the Filling Station, an unconventional church in southeast Washington. As Reginald puts it, “you go in empty and come out full.’”
He also had a life–changing experience when Conrad Cheek, one of Street Sense’s vendors, introduced him to the paper.
How did you become homeless?
When my father evicted me.
Where do you find yourself in five years?
With a place of my own, and a full–time job as an accountant or bank teller.
What is your favorite music?
Hip–Hop.
What is your favorite movie?
An animated cartoon called “Treasure of the Sun.”
What is your favorite food?
Grapes and more grapes, bags full of them. I could eat grapes all day long.
What is your favorite book?
“Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare. I learned from it that you can trust nobody, not even your best friend, because he could stab you in the back any time.
How did you become involved with Street Sense?
When Conrad Cheek gave me a paper when I was panhandling at Eastern Market. Since then I have more confidence and I make more money than when begging. [Begging] is demeaning.
