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“I’ve been a chef since I was 16 till 2006 when I got run over. I got knocked off my bike, and for 18 months, I was injured. But I didn’t break any bones. My chef’s bag saved my head from hitting the ground. It was a drunk driver.
Two of my friends were actually working for the Big Issue and introduced me when I had sort of left my partner, and I was having a hard time going through the drug situation. I ended up getting into the Big Issue.
People have got a lot more respect because you’re doing something instead of sitting. I see the beggars all the time,I’ve been there myself, right, but it’s not a nice thing, but when you’re stuck in situations, you just want to survive. It kept me away from the drugs, it kept me pretty sane. And I enjoyed getting up and doing something instead of just sitting twiddling thumbs and wondering what’s going to come next.
I had a hernia operation last year, and then my mum passed away. And then my birthday was a day after the funeral and it’s just like it was one thing after another I was just not interested in anything, not even getting out. And then a week before Christmas I had hopped over the wire thinking I’m taking a shortcut and I broke my ankle.
I found out last week I’ve got bowel cancer last week. I know it’s a start, I know there’s cures, I know there’s remedies and I know that there’s a lot of treatments they could do.
When I wear the red Big Issue vest, I feel in charge. Every store has got their uniform, right? When I stand down there and put it on, I become a different person. I feel I’m here for a purpose.”
The Big Issue 2024 Christmas ad, 12 Days of Homelessness, shines a light on the leading causes of homelessness across the UK, voiced by Big Issue vendors, frontline workers, and Big Issue ambassador Daniel Mays.
Your purchase of the Big Issue Winter Support Kit helps to cover the cost of the items in the kit and supports the vital efforts of the Big Issue Support Service (Big Issue Changing Lives CIC).
Our Support Team will distribute the items in the Big Issue Vendor Support kit to vendors as they visit local offices to purchase their magazines. Distribution of items will be based on the level of support from the public for the Winter Support kits and the individual vendor need for each of the items in the kit.
Our Support Team has enabled over 108,000 vendors to sell 229 million copies of the Big Issue magazine and earn more than £154 million in income, since 1991.
Our team helps set people up as vendors so they can sell the magazine and start earning an income from day one. The team also supports vendors to access essential services, across our five key impact pillars, to help people get back on their feet and work towards a better future for themselves.
See here for more information on how we manage your financial contribution to the Big Issue Changing Lives CIC.
Campaign photography credit: Juliette Pedram
