INSP Advent Calendar: day 15

Victoria came to the UK from Romania a year ago and has been a Big Issue North vendor for around nine months. She wants to build a future for herself and her partner, Ionut, here in the UK and to find a stable job. Victoria enjoys her work as a Big Issue North vendor and is grateful for all of the support and help that she has had from her customers.

David K has been selling The Big Issue for over a decade from his pitch in Brisbane’s central business district. He started working as a vendor when his life was on an upswing, and things have only improved since then. David is the proud father of a daughter now in college and a keen street soccer player, and he wants to thank his customers for their support over the years.

Women aged 24 to 34, often with children, are the most likely to access homelessness services in Australia, while homelessness among older women is on the rise. Big Issue Australia vendor Cheryl shares her experiences of being homeless as a woman.

It may be Halloween, but we’ll try not to scare you off with this month’s eclectic round up of street paper covers from around the world.

A mom of two kids and two cats, Julie “Jewel” Chapman would take everyone under her wing for protection if she could. Her altruistic activism fuels her work within the Downtown Eastside community of Vancouver, where she is a support worker for sex workers and those struggling with addiction. Despite some people’s negative attitude towards the DTES, Jewel feels that her neighbourhood is a wonderful community full of hope.

Last year, Lice v Lice featured the story of one of its vendors, Tunan Sadik, and stated that he was “one of those people who succeed in their lives”. Less than a year later, Tunan has used his success as a magazine vendor to provide a better home for himself and for the rest of his family. We visited him at home in the Shutka neighbourhood of Skopje to find out more.

The editors of The Curbside Chronicle make room in every issue to share personal stories from Curbside vendors, as their goal to document the challenges of homelessness. Homelessness can be an extremely difficult path and going it alone is never easy, which is why readers might notice that some of the magazine’s vendors have pets. In a series of conversations with Curbside vendors, we find out more about the furballs who have wagged their way into vendors hearts and become an integral part of the Curbside community.

Mr. Huang sells The Big Issue Taiwan from his pitch outside the Qizhang metro station in Taipei. His life changed five years ago when two workplace accidents and a cancer diagnosis transformed his physical health. Having made peace with the past, Huang is grateful that being a Big Issue vendor provides him with a steady income and is looking forward to the future with hope.

Clothes make the man: a principle that vendors of Düsseldorf street paper fiftyfifty had the chance to experience first-hand as the subjects of an unusual photo shoot. Advertising agency Havas collaborated with the world’s leading photo agency Getty Images to create a completely new perception of people living on the street, with the aim of helping to challenge existing prejudices. Their campaign, called “Repicturing Homeless”, has received media coverage all around the world.

After winning the Best Project category at the 2018 INSP Awards for their Frank Turner fronted fundraising concert during the 2017 Street Paper Summit in Manchester, Big Issue North’s Street Noise team embarked on their most audacious challenge yet – a string of five events in five days, across five major cities in northern England, called the Big Busk. INSP was lucky enough to tag along for a day to see how it all went.

Surprise vendor Ali Nur Mohammed was badly injured in an attack carried out by Al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia. He lost his right leg in the attack and the prosthetic limb that he has worn ever since causes him chronic pain. After reading about him in an issue of Surprise, Ronnie Schenkein set up a fund for Mohammed. This is what happened when the two met for the first time.

When we hear from vendors, it is usually to learn more about their experiences with homelessness and how working as a street paper seller has helped them. But vendors do all sorts of outstanding, inspiring things that we might not know about. Gerald “Spike” Peachey aims to use all of his experiences from the streets to help build a city where everyone can live their best lives by running for councillor in Vancouver’s civic election later this month. He sets out the reasons why the people in his district should vote for him.

Ewa, 51, sells Hinz&Kunzt at her pitch in front of the Douglas perfume shop on Mönckebergstraße, Hamburg. Earlier this year, she worked in the KunztKüche, where her hard work and dedication were noticed by her co-workers and, in May, she was the winner of the ‘Mit dir geht mehr’ (You make our city better) campaign. Hinz&Kunzt met up with Ewa, who has high hopes for the future and who has done so much to support others in her community.

As September draws to a close, we’re pausing for a moment to reflect on the impressive street paper covers that have been seen across the INSP network this month.

Chon Gotti, a vendor and salesman, discusses how he found himself without housing and how he moved beyond that point. A former officer, an advocate and parent, Gotti sees life as a matter of pride, confidence and strength. Along with discussing his business strategies, Gotti works to be a reminder that the homeless are not a stereotype, but people just like anyone else.

This Big Issue love story begins at a wheelchair touch football game and continues on through joy, devastation and more love – an abundance of it. The Big Issue Australia’s editor Amy Hetherington speaks to newlywed vendors Kelly and Greg.