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Report 1 of 5:
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Issue
Introduction
An estimated 100 million people worldwide are homeless. They have no shelter. They sleep on pavements, in doorways, in parks, under bridges, or in public buildings, such as railway or bus stations. If those living in temporary shelters - for example, shacks, squatter housing or refugee camps - are included, the number rises to 1,000 million. For those people who cannot find a job and have no savings, the streets soon become home. With no formal address, the cycle of poverty is hard to escape.
A novel self help scheme was established in the United Kingdom in 1991 to give homeless people the chance to make an income. The Big Issue is a magazine sold on the streets by vendors in need of an honest income. It campaigns on behalf of homeless people and highlights the major social issues of the day. It allows homeless people to voice their views and opinions, as well as providing them with an opportunity to earn a living.
Big Issue International
Big Issue International forges partnerships with social entrepreneurs to launch street papers in cities worldwide. It advocates the setting up of street papers as businesses for social change thus creating the mechanism for socially excluded people to help themselves. Big Issue International also facilitates the International Network of Street Papers (INSP).
The International Network of Street Papers
INSP encourages the exchange of ideas between partner papers and holds an annual conference to discuss the exciting developments and challenges in this dynamic movement for social change. INSP has 21 members spanning three continents, including "CAIS" in Lisbon, Portugal, "Ulica" in Warsaw, Poland and "Big Issue, Cape Town" in South Africa.
Principles of INSP
Membership of INSP is based upon being a signatory of the Street Paper Charter which outlines the principles of the Network:
- aiming to help socially excluded people help themselves (in some countries only homeless people apply in this category), through providing them with the means of earning an income and facilitating their re-integration into society, through providing social support.
- using all post-investment profits to finance social support for the vendors or the socially excluded. Each paper supplies its annual accounts to an agreed independent organisation for the purpose of financial transparency.
- aiming to provide vendors with a voice in the media and campaigning on behalf of the socially excluded.
- aiming towards creating quality street papers, which the vendors are proud to sell and the public are happy to buy. This breaks the cycle of dependency through empowerment.
- aiming towards social responsibility in business in terms of editorial, staff, vendor and environmental policies.
- supporting prospective street papers that share a common philosophy and intend to sign the street paper charter.
- that no charter street paper shall enter the established selling area of an existing charter member.
Aims of The Big Issue
- enable homeless people to earn an income through self-help
- invest profits to benefit homeless people
- provide homeless people with a voice in the media
- produce a quality magazine which interests and informs readers
- provide an example of a socially responsible business
Training vendors for The Big Issue
When a prospective vendor comes to The Big Issue, they are asked to provide proof that they are homeless. Then they have a training session in which The Big Issue's services and the pitch system are explained in detail.
All vendors complete a training period and sign a Code of Conduct. They are also informed that they should declare their earnings to the UK’s Department of Social Security. They then sign a statement to this effect. Vendors are not employed by The Big Issue, they are retailers, and as such, are responsible for their own tax etc.
In London, after being "badged up", each vendor receives ten papers, but this policy varies across the country. Thereafter, they buy copies of the magazine for 40 pence each and sell them on the streets to the public for £1.00, keeping the 60 pence profit.
Once their training session is complete, the vendors are given a pitch. Pitches within towns and cities are divided by zones, each with a corresponding coloured badge. Support workers visit vendors on their pitches; dealing with a wide variety of problems ranging from pitch disputes to personal problems. They often act as a referral service.
As well as the towns and cities where there are distribution points, there are vendors selling The Big Issue throughout the country. On average over 3,000 vendors in London and another 8-10,000 vendors across the country are badged up every year. However, it is estimated that about 500 of these vendors are active at any one time in London and 2,000 across the country as a whole.
"CAIS"
"CAIS" or "Gateway" is a monthly magazine, modelled on The Big Issue. It was started in Lisbon, Portugal in 1994. The Portuguese government provides a small grant to cover the running costs which is administered by recognised homelessness charities. The office space has been donated. The editorial staff, graphic designers and photographers donate their skills and the printing costs are free. The print run on each monthly edition of CAIS is 34,000 copies and the magazine has about 100 to 150 vendors working at any one time.
Vendors receive about 80% of the selling price of CAIS which is about US$1.50 per magazine. The remaining 20% of the selling price goes to homeless charities and not to CAIS directly. The aim is not for the magazine to make money but to help those who are prepared to help themselves.
Benefits of street papers
As well as providing an income for homeless people, once street paper vendors have been selling for sometime, they are more likely to be able to find work elsewhere. An experienced vendor can prove to a potential employer that s/he is a reliable and stable character which can help them secure a job in the future.
For further information, please contact:
This document is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the DFID.
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