Words by Smiley Team
Most people throughout the UK are familiar with The Big Issue, the paper launched in 1991 in response to the growing number of rough sleepers on the streets of London.
Vendors buy Big Issue magazines and sell them on the streets at their own profit or loss, whilst the Big Issue Foundation established later in 1995 helps link vendors up with vital support services which help them address the issues that lead to homelessness and rough sleeping. The result is that each year they help thousands of people get out of the cycle of poverty and homelessness. Now, with the UK on lockdown and fewer and fewer people on the streets, Big Issue vendors are in desperate need of support.
The Big Issue Foundation itself is not funded by magazine sales and 98% of the work they do is funded by voluntary donations. The Vendor Support Fund which enables vendors to gain employment, training and personal goal fulfilment - has become even more important during the lockdown.The fund is open all year-round and available to any vendor UK wide, who are also helped to identify their aspirations and assisting in filling out the application. They then save and contribute a discretionary amount – typically 20-50% – towards their chosen cost with the VSF covering the remainder.
Isolation has had a huge impact on many people, but The Big Issue says that the stress, inactivity and uncertainty is taking its toll on their vendors. The Big Issue explains how one vendor in London was struggling with their mental health whilst being housed in a hotel and was going to leave. The Vendor Support Fund was able to provide him with a laptop to both help stave off isolation but also provide future opportunities.
There are other issues affecting vendors too, including insecure housing. One vendor has been threatened with eviction because she is unable to pay rent; she is subletting and has no contract in her name. Another vendor in Bristol has been referred to St Mungo’s outreach team because his solution to rough sleeping (staying with a friend) became unviable in the crisis. The Big Issue foundation was able to secure him an urgent assessment which has helped him to feel ‘less stressed, like I’m actually being looked after and not just forgotten about.
The Big Issue Foundation has been supporting vendors with children by providing information to parents who are homeschooling during lockdown by informing them about educational programmes available freely online and how to access them, as well as helping with applications for free school meal programmes. They have also set up a referral pathway to Ashley’s Birthday Bank in Bournemouth who provide essential packs for babies and children during this difficult time.
The Foundation has also been supporting its vendors by providing art supplies as they have no form of entertainment in their accommodation and in doing so they have been able to help combat loneliness and also provide a distraction for those struggling with substance misuse. One of the vendors is a trained artist who would like to use the Vendor Support Fund to get hold of various art supplies and he hopes to be able to build up a cache of art that he can then sell after the lockdown.
They have also been supporting vendors’ pets, delivering dog food donated by Street Vet to 7 vendors around London who have been struggling to feed their animals. The wellbeing of the animals and their wonders is often directly linked and so keeping each as healthy as possible is hugely important.
There are a variety of ways to support both the vendors themselves as well as the Big Issue Foundation, which you can find about here: https://www.bigissue.com/support-the-big-issue/
The Foundation relies entirely on donations which can be made at their website and you can directly support vendors by getting The Big Issue delivered straight to your door, with a three month weekly subscription starting at as little as £38.99 and with 50% of net proceeds going directly to the vendors themselves.
By Ellen Jones
