Vendor Writing

Volunteer Spotlight: Andy Shapiro

BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Readers it’s time for another Volunteer Spotlight, this time featuring Andy Shapiro.

Andy is not from Tennessee. He moved here from California on July 4, 2007, with his family including his wife Caryn and his son Aaron who lives in East Nashville when Andy retired from his civil service job as a firefighter after 33 years. Caryn took a job in the music business managing a nonprofit organization.

Andy has quite a track record of volunteering, and he needed something to do after retiring, so he started with Hope Force training others in first aid, incident command, and disaster response.

He also worked at a food bank for a while. It was there he realized he needed to do more than pack boxes, he needed interaction with other people.

He started volunteering with The Contributor in 2011.

When asked to describe the difference between The Contributor back then versus now, he said in the beginning, the paper was basically a way for the homeless to make money and hopefully get them a bite to eat, and maybe a hotel room for a night or two.

Now, he says, The Contributor is more of a full-service organization walking individuals through the process from start to finish, offering support services including helping people get everything from IDs, providing transportation to/from doctors if needed, helping individuals apply for SNAP benefits, giving bus passes to vendors who qualify by purchasing a specified number of papers.

Once a vendor purchases 40 papers they can meet with an housing navigator and begin the process of applying for and ultimately getting into housing.

All of this is made possible by means of a government grant.

He also said all the volunteers are equally involved in the paper's and vendor's success and they actually strive to listen to the vendors.

Bottom line: The paper’s staff and volunteers are willing to do whatever it takes to meet the needs of individuals they serve — all while stressing the importance of building a community among the staff, volunteers, vendors, customers and others in the community.

In another interview Andy credited The Contributor with allowing him to get to know a different part of society, one he might have otherwise not gotten to know.

I am SO glad The Contributor provided him that opportunity, and that he came to the conclusion that he needed those “other people” as staff and vendors alike are now proud to call him their friend!

One other very important thing to know about Andy is he’s both a maker and a fixer, and though he’ll work with anything from metal to wiring to construction, he has a special fondness for wood, and if I may say so, he is truly gifted in that department.

How do I know? During the course of this interview, he showed me a wooden bowl he’d made that was in The Contributor office. It was BEAUTIFUL!

My Health Update

BY WILLIAM B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

In 2016, I was selling The Contributor and playing music in front of Bailey’s downtown. I had to go out to pay my phone bill out on West End and Broadway. I think it was called Sprint. On the way back, I was on what they call a roller-aid. It’s like a walker with a seat in it that you can sit down in. In fact, I got something like that still now. My church bought it for me.

So, I was going back toward town and I was in front of this Buick car dealer place and I always play music on my speaker when I’m walking around. So, I was going down towards town on West End and I didn’t realize it, but there was a real bad place in the sidewalk. A big cut in the sidewalk. It’s still there as of today. There’s a picture of it with this story. As of 2023 this sidewalk has still not been fixed and I’m very careful when I come down that sidewalk.

I got hurt really bad. It flipped me over my roller aid and I landed flat on my back. Cars even pulled over to pick me up. They wanted to call 911, but I wouldn’t let them. They took pictures for me, but I didn’t get any compensation from the city or from Buick or from anybody. Later on in the month I started having neck and back problems. This was a severe pain. I went to my main primary doctor and got referred to a neck and spine doctor. They found out I had bad damage in my neck. I had to have titanium screws put in the back of my neck. I’m in constant pain. And they still won’t fix the sidewalk. I think I should have been compensated, because I have to buy my own medicine because my insurance doesn’t pay for the medication that works for me. It’s all temporary relief though because they tried shots in my neck and head and they didn’t do any good.

So I was sent to another doctor. The first one I seen is Dr. Schooly. After that I was referred to Dr. Victor Issac over on Church Street. That’s who referred me back to Dr. Schooly to operate on my neck and back to have a stint put in. So, they are really trying to make me a bionic man! I’m well on my way. I got titanium screws in my neck and staples in my stomach from 1977. And the stint will hopefully be the last operation. Oh wait no I’m going in for a knee operation.

I pray to God that someone out there can get this sidewalk fixed. God bless you all and thank you.