'The Big Issue opened doors for me when the world seemed unfriendly'

As the Big Issue celebrates its 35th anniversary this September, the magazine and social enterprise has been extremely successful in doing what its slogan suggests: it's still a "hand up not a hand out".

In London, currently there are around 616 people currently selling the Big Issue, who have sold 358,000 copies in the past year.

Three of them told BBC London how the Big Issue had changed their life for the better.

When it was first set up in London as first a monthly, then weekly magazine to help those facing street homelessness, 64-year-old Kelvin Gregory, then in his 20s, was one of the first to sign up.

"I was homeless, begging for a while, in and out of work. One day a friend of mine said there's a magazine called the Big Issue, and would I like to try and sell it," said Kelvin.

"Thirty-five years down the line, I'm still here. I treat it like it's my vocation."

The Big Issue has supported 110,000 vendors in the UK since 1991, who have earned £162m between them.

Vendors earn an income by buying the magazine from its publishers at the reduced price of £2.50. They then sell it on the street for £5.00.

All the profit is theirs to keep and they can use this to buy more magazines the following week.

These days selling the Big Issue is open to anyone facing financial insecurity, not just those sleeping rough.

"We buy the magazines, and the only downside is if you don't sell them all, there's no sell-or-return, so if you buy 50 magazines at the beginning of the week and you only sell 25, the other 25 then have to go in the bin," explained Kelvin.

Kelvin lives with his partner and rescue dog Libby these days, but still enjoys the social interaction that selling the Big Issue at his pitch on the Strand has brought him.

"It's made me a better person, be more socially aware," said Kelvin.

"It's being part of the community which is the Big Issue family, but also the people who buy the magazine become part of that community."

Over in north London, 72-year-old vendor Easton got emotional when he told me the story of his relationship with the Big Issue.

Born in Jamaica, he came over to the UK in the 1968 and went to school in Coventry where his father lived. He then returned to his country of birth to look after his mother in 1980.

He had previously worked in a clothes factory cutting cloth from patterns, but when he returned to the UK in 2002 he found it hard to find a job.

For a number of years he attended an outreach centre on Essex Rd.

It's as he told me this next part that tears began to stream from his eyes and he brought out a large handkerchief to wipe them away.

"After about two an half years going to this place, one of the workers said 'would you like to earn your own money by selling the Big Issue? So I said, yes'," he recalled.

I asked him to tell me why he was so tearful.

"The thing is, at my age, I couldn't get no work," he explained.

"Knowing that I could sell this and make a living, that's the difference, instead of relying on your family. Because they need what they've got for themselves.

"Selling is working. I knew then I could help, instead of keep asking."

He recently came out of retirement by popular demand because his customers kept asking where he had gone. He splits his time between selling in Tufnell Park and White City.

Before lockdown in 2019, Easton could sell as many as 70 copies per day. These days he does not sell as many, and people no longer carry as much cash.

To combat this a majority of vendors have either a card reader or QR code to scan so they can still keep their business going.

"It's a micro-business," said Easton, who is rather enjoying being out of retirement.

"It's good to come out and get some fresh air instead of feeling sorry for yourself."

One Big Issue seller well known to BBC staff at New Broadcasting House in Portland Place is George Anderson.

A former scientist, Scotland-born George starting selling the Big Issue next to the BBC and close to the steps of Old Soul's Church a decade ago.

"I started off in Covent Garden like a lot of people do when they are selling the Big Issue. And wandering around one night, doing a bit of sightseeing, because I didn't know London that well, I came across the BBC," he recalled.

"I had two magazines left over. I approached somebody and they bought one, and the woman behind bought one as well. And I thought this is the place for me."

Since then George has made many friends among the employees of the national broadcaster.

So fond of him are staff that they raised thousands of pounds to keep him in his hostel and get him back on his feet after he became seriously ill with pneumonia a couple of years ago.

"I've met a lot of lovely people here that are very kind to me. I've been for meals, and I'm quite good friends with a lot of lovely people.

"I look forward to the interaction with people here. Whoever works in human resources is to be commended for their selection policy!" he joked.

Things had started to go wrong for George in the last financial crash in 2008 when he was still living in Scotland. He was working for the NHS and suddenly his temporary contract came to an end and wasn't renewed.

"Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. My mother died. I split up with the woman I was with."

A relative suggested he should move to London to live with him for a fresh start, but when George arrived he found his relative had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, and he died within a fortnight.

That is when George found himself on the streets.

"I went into Charing Cross Police Station to ask what I could do and they suggested selling the Big Issue."

Through the Big Issue, George found people with similar experiences as well as a support network through the magazine, as well the network he has through his pitch close to New Broadcasting House.

"When all doors were closing in my face and the world didn't seem a particularly friendly place, the door to the Big Issue was always open."

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