Temple Photojournalism
PEOPLE OF THE STREETS/
ONE STEP AWAY / JERRY TUCKER
Photos and Text by Maggie Andresen
Persistance and a Paper
If you’re passing 10th and South Street at any hour of daylight, there’s a good chance that you’ll see Jerry Tucker in a neon vest, asking for a one dollar donation if you can spare it. Tucker has been a liscenced vendor for the newspaper for three years, and owes to it his financial freedom.
“I got involved with One Step Away when I was in the shelter...it didn’t seem like I was getting anywhere at first, but my mind came back to me and said I have to hang in there with it. Before I knew it I was doing good. I finally got a permanent spot on 10th and South now because I’m part of the 600 club. When you’re in the 600 club you get a permanent spot and nobody can work there except you.”
Tucker was born and raised in Philadelphia, working in and out of odd jobs after he was orphaned at sixteen. Now a father of seven adults himself, Tucker is glad to offer a role model to his children for financial security,
“What makes this (One Step Away) different is that you’re your own boss. You can work when you want to work, the money you get is your own money, I keep 75 cents they get a quarter. You can do it anytime you want to do it, that’s the best part. There’s no hours, you can wake up in the morning and say I ain’t got to go to work today but you still got your job. It’s all on me, nobody is on my back whatsoever.”
The day begins at Arch Street Methodist Church, where every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning the papers are disbursed to the vendors. Tucker packs up his backpack and we begin the walk from Broad and Arch to 10th and South. It seems as if every third person we pass knows Tucker, they walk up and shake his hand seemingly out of the blue. Tucker takes pride in this, claiming that he probably knows half of the city.
“Being out here I meet more people. If I wasn’t out here on South Street I wouldn’t have know anything about this Rocky movie from this lady who did movies for thirty years. She pushed me to do it. I meet a whole lot of people out here.”
The film Tucker speaks of is the newest in the sequence of the Rocky franchise; he was chosen as an extra and paid one hundred dollars a day for a week in return. But his small film debut is only one reason that Tucker is well known; he has been featured in the paper numerous times in interviews as well as behind the pen. When President Obama came to Philadelphia last year, Tucker was allowed a press pass and shook the President’s hand.
We arrive at 10th and South and Tucker dons the unmistakable neon vest that makes his uniform. For the first hour or so only three people buy a paper, and while Tucker isn’t fased it is easy to see why the job can be discouraging when crowds of people pass by without so much as a look.
“That part bothered me a whole lot when I first started. It seemed like I was just standing here and people were just walking by. Some people would yell things like You ain’t homeless, stuff like that. Get a job! All that kind of stuff. It used to mess with my mind, but as I got used to it it doesn’t even bother me any more. I was getting ready to say I won’t deal with this, but I hung in there. I got used to it. They walk by now and ignore me, it don’t even bother me anymore.”
The day is crisp but sunny, the first enjoyable day to spend outside in a long while. People pass in swells, mothers carting baby carriages, shoppers at Whole Foods toting groceries, skateboarders and dog walkers and everyone in between. It becomes clear to me that there is a strong regular base that Tucker has built; good friends and readers of the paper. Tucker’s story is one of hard work and relentless hope, he did not have good times handed to him and has built everything that he has with that spirit.
“One Step Away helped me a lot. I can buy clothes, I can eat, I can put money away now. I can support myself a lot better. That’s the good part I love about it. Since I’ve been with One Step Away I’m a board member for Supporting Housing now for them, I write articles in the paper, I started doing a lot.”What would Jerry be doing if One Step Away didn’t exist? Tucker says that even if he somehow came into an abundance of money, he would still love to work this job.
“I don’t know what I’d be doing right now if One Step Away didn’t exist, I would have a job doing something different but I don’t think it would be better than this, this is one of the best jobs I’ve had in my life. It helps me a whole lot. I say if I was a millionaire and had a whole lot of money id donate a whole lot of money to this organization because I now where I came from and what organization helped me to really get back on my feet.”
Jerry’s last piece of advice is something that we can all follow.
“Keep doing what you’re doing. Find an opportunity – stick with it. Don’t give up, that’s all I have to say is don’t give up on whatever you want to do in life. When you give up you ain’t got a chance, when you stick with it you do.”
