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Big issue salesperson on Davygate in York
Big issue salesperson on Davygate in York

Founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991, The Big Issue produces an award winning entertainment and current affairs magazine, which is written by professional journalists and sold on the streets by homeless people. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally This article is about people called professionals For the Movie, see The Professional or Leon. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends Homelessness is the condition and social category of people who lack housing because they cannot afford or are otherwise unable to maintain regular safe and adequate shelter The Big Issue is one of the UK's leading social businesses, and exists to offer homeless people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income, thereby helping them to reintegrate into mainstream society. A social business is one which aims to be financially self-sufficient if not profitable in its pursuit of a social ethical or environmental goal Income, refers to consumption opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame which is generally expressed in monetary terms

To become a vendor you must be homeless or vulnerably housed. A vendor or a supplier is a Supply chain management term meaning anyone who provides goods or services to a company However The Big Issue recognise that for many people, being housed is only the first stage in getting off the streets, hence The Big Issue Foundation exists to support vendors in gaining control of their lives by tackling the various issues which lead to homelessness. The Big Issue Foundation is a Registered charity partly funded by sales of The Big Issue magazine.

There are 5 regional editions of the magazine sold throughout the UK, and vendors buy The Big Issue for 70p[1] and sell it for £1. A penny (pl pence or pennies) is a Coin or a unit of Currency used in several English -speaking countries The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency 50. The magazine is also produced and sold in Australia, Republic of Ireland South Africa, Japan, Namibia and Kenya. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south All vendors receive training, sign a code of conduct[2] and can be identified by badges which include their photo and vendor number. The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge skills and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge A badge is a device, patch or accoutrement which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service a special accomplishment a symbol of authority granted by taking

Contents

History

Inspired by Street News, a newspaper sold by homeless people in New York, The Big Issue was founded in 1991 by John Bird and Gordon Roddick as a response to the increasing numbers of homeless people in London. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. [3] The magazine was initially published monthly, but in June 1993 The Big Issue went weekly. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) The venture continued to expand with regional editions being established in Scotland [2], Wales [3], Northern England [4] and South West England [5]. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Northern England, The North, The North of England or (less commonly The North Country refers to the parts of England north of an ill-defined line South West England is one of the Regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area and extends from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to These editions cover the whole of the UK and editions are also produced in five other countries. Founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991, The Big Issue produces an award winning entertainment and current affairs

In 1995 The Big Issue Foundation was founded to offer additional support and advice to vendors around issues such as housing, health, personal finance and addiction. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The Big Issue Foundation is a Registered charity partly funded by sales of The Big Issue magazine.

Ethos

The magazine is produced by The Big Issue Company Ltd. The company is a self-sustaining business which generates income through magazine sales and advertising revenues. A limited company in the United Kingdom is a Corporation whose liability is limited by law Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand Financially, The Big Issue is a not-for-profit organization, with all post-investment profits passed to The Big Issue Foundation. A non-profit organization ( abbreviated "NPO" also "not-for-profit" is a legally constituted Organization whose objective is to support or engage It is one of the best known social businesses in the world.

The Big Issue Foundation is the registered charity arm of the organisation. The definition of charitable organization, and of charity varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates It aims to underpin the company's work by tackling the underlying causes of homelessness

Overseas projects

There are also six international Big Issue projects by the same name.

Some similar projects are also published in different cities around the world:

Criticisms

Some criticism has been directed towards The Big Issue. Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is geographically located on the southern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. (called Christiania from 1624 to 1878 and Kristiania from 1878 to 1924 is the Capital and largest city of Norway. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Cambridge Massachusetts is a City in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Oakland (ˈoʊklənd founded in 1852 is the eighth-largest city in the U Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. For example, apart from at the bigger centres, no services other than the selling of magazines to vendors is offered. Also, in some areas people (including the vendors themselves) feel that there are too many vendors, such as in the city of Oxford (although according to the manager of the Oxford branch, Oxford has 60-70 vendors which is about average for a city of that size). Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, The people with the most need are not given priority when vending positions are allocated. Furthermore, vendors may still find it difficult to move on to other employment once they are off the streets. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. It has also been argued that The Big Issue's model has become outdated, as homeless people now tend to be younger and have fewer employment skills than the older people for whom The Big Issue was originally set up to help back into employment. Employability refers to a person's capability of gaining initial Employment, maintaining employment and obtaining new employment if required (Hillage and Pollard 1998 A rising number of homeless people are now also involved in substance abuse and The Big Issue doesn't help to tackle this problem (The Big Issue's policy is that vendors can spend their money on whatever they choose, but vendors can't be under the influence of alcohol or drugs when selling The Big Issue[2]). Substance abuse is the overindulgence in and dependence of a Drug or other chemical leading to effects that are detrimental to the individual's physical and mental health Drug abuse has a wide range of definitions related to taking a Psychoactive drug or Performance enhancing drug for a non-therapeutic or non-medical effect As substance abuse may be the reason why the vendor is homeless in the first place, The Big Issue tackles a symptom of this rather than the cause itself. [4]


Response

Services: The Big Issue offers ongoing support to vendors through our network of outreach workers and via The Big Issue Foundation. Outreach staff spend the majority of their time on the streets building relationships with vendors, and are therefore on hand to offer tailored support, advice and referrals. The Big Issue does not duplicate existing services but instead sign-posts vendors to the organisation or agency best placed to address their needs.

Vendor numbers: The Big Issue works extremely closely with local authorities, town centre managers and the police to monitor vendor numbers in any given area, and to ensure that vendors play a positive role in their communities.

Pitch allocation: The Big Issue operates a strict pitch system. Vendors register for a pitch each week and pitches are allocated on a first come first served basis. Vendors are given the same level of support irrespective of the location of their pitch.

Successes: The causes of homelessness are varied and complex, therefore The Big Issue recognises that offering a vulnerable person the opportunity to earn a legitimate income is only the first step. The Big Issue Foundation exists to offer support in tackling the issues which contribute to homelessness, including substance abuse, mental health problems, debt etc. This process can be lengthy and difficult, hence The Big Issue allows people to continue selling the magazine for as long as is necessary. The Big Issue believes that any improvement in a person's circumstances, however small or gradual, should be considered a success.

See also

References

  1. ^ About the big Issue
  2. ^ a b "The Big Issue - Code of Conduct" [1]
  3. ^ The Big Issue - Introduction and History
  4. ^ "On the Streets", Oxford Forum, Issue 6 (Summer 2007)

External links

Street newspapers are Newspapers that provide employment opportunities community and a voice to homeless and other economically vulnerable people
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