California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

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Street Living-A local man shares his story about how he went from being a musician on the road to living in a van.

West MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland has been riddled with crime for many years, but many do not know the story of the individuals that call the street home.

“Fred the Mechanic,” has been living on West MacArthur in his van for over 20 years. He has no permanent place of residence and makes his money by working on people’s cars for ridiculously low prices.

Fred’s hands are often black on both sides from working on cars all day.  He wears a mechanic’s jumpsuit every day and doesn’t speak much, but he is well known amongst those that live on West MacArthur.

Living out of a van on one of the most dangerous streets in Oakland is not how Fred envisioned his future as a young boy. What most people don’t know is Fred was once an aspiring musician, who toured the U.S. with many of Motown’s finest.

“I can play just about any instrument,” said Fred. “In my younger days, I traveled and played with some of the greats. When I started performing, I was just a little kid. I made a lot of connections, and music was my job for a long time.”

With all his success as a musician, the question arises of what happened in his life that led him to being homeless and working as a backyard mechanic. Fred believes that when the lady of his life walked out on him, his life had begun to fall apart.

“When I was a musician I had a woman that I really loved and cared about,” said Fred. “She couldn’t deal with the fact that I was always on the road, and one day she left me. I haven’t been right since.”- Fred “the Mechanic”

Fred began to let his love life interfere with his music career; he stopped performing and started smoking crack-cocaine to deal with his sorrows. Addiction and a loss for his passion to be a musician led him to living out of his car on West MacAarthur.

“When I stopped doing music, I had to find a way to support myself,” said Fred. “I was always good with cars, so I became the neighborhood mechanic around here.”

Instead of standing beside musicians and singers, Fred now lives amongst pimps, prostitutes, and drug users. Many of his friends live on the street or live in Motels, some are drug dealers that get high off their own supply, and some wash cars for money.

“I don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for me, and I don’t ask for much, I just do what I have to do to survive,” says Fred.

When Fred isn’t working as a free-lance mechanic, he works on cars at a local used car dealer to support his habit and buy food.

Although Fred is homeless and struggles with addiction, his work ethic is strong and he knows how to survive in the streets.

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Street Living-A local man shares his story about how he went from being a musician on the road to living in a van.