Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Oasis Collector's Edition is HERE! - Get yours before they go.
GET MINE
News

I was a Big Issue vendor and now I run my own theatre company

Through a scheme organised by The Big Issue, Emilia Teglia was introduced to Sarah Templeton - a meeting that changed the rest of her life.

Cathy by Cardboard Citizens

A performance by Cardboard Citizens.

In 1999, Emilia Teglia had come from Italy and was struggling with addiction issues and homeless.

“I was really in a bad state,” the now 45-year-old says.

“I spoke English but not a great amount. I wasn’t eligible for any state benefits. I had addiction problems, no fixed abode problems. My view of the future was quite bleak. Luckily, there is something like The Big Issue.”

A scheme run by The Big Issue paired vendors with a mentor and Teglia was matched with Sarah Templeton, who had run a theatre company.

Teglia had always been interested in performance and that mentorship became a lifeline when Templeton introduced her to Cardboard Citizens, which runs theatre workshops with people who have experienced homelessness (also celebrating its 30th birthday this year).

“Don’t underestimate what fun and play can do because it really puts you in touch with your soul,” says Teglia.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

“Even though you’ve allegedly got a lot of time on your hands [being unemployed and homeless] I think that loads of people can see now, after 2020, that time on your hands doesn’t equal freedom.”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

Will you sign Big Issue's petition to ask Keir Starmer to pass a Poverty Zero law? It's time to hold government to account on poverty once and for all.

Recommended for you

View all
Labour wants to build 300,000 affordable and social homes in 10 years. But is it enough?
Labour housing secretary Angela Rayner
Social housing

Labour wants to build 300,000 affordable and social homes in 10 years. But is it enough?

MPs vote to take forward 'brutal' cuts to disability benefits: 'It will come to haunt this government'
Liz Kendall
Disability benefits

MPs vote to take forward 'brutal' cuts to disability benefits: 'It will come to haunt this government'

Absolutely everything you need to know about Labour's benefits bill, PIP changes and who's affected
Keir Starmer
Welfare reform

Absolutely everything you need to know about Labour's benefits bill, PIP changes and who's affected

Thousands of disabled people face ten-month wait for benefits due to DWP backlog
Disability benefits

Thousands of disabled people face ten-month wait for benefits due to DWP backlog

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.