Our work
The Big Issue offers people who are homeless the opportunity to earn their own money; a livelihood. The Big Issue Foundation offers vendors the opportunity of a life. We work tirelessly alongside our vendors to help them deal with the issues that have caused their homelessness or have developed as a result of hitting the streets.
We have a unique relationship with our vendors because they are our 'customers' and not our 'clients'. We offer the hand of support and believe that personal change is always possible no matter how challenging or complex the situation.
Not many people know that The Big Issue Foundation is 100% reliant on the generosity of our donors. With your help we give vendors the support they need to find their own paths away from the street. We are grateful for any donation that you can afford. Your generosity helps turn opportunity into reality across the country.
Never look down on someone unless you are helping them up. As you go about your daily life please do stop and say hello to a vendor, buy a magazine and go a little further; join us on one of our amazing events, come up with your own idea to raise funds and do it yourself or take the plunge and get involved.
It can be as little as 12 months from a significant life event to losing everything and arriving on the street. Last year alone we worked with over 3000 individuals.
In these austere and troubled times the need for our services is stronger than ever. Big Issue Vendors are working for a future. Together we can make this happen.
Big Issue vendor Elliot is cycling from London to Paris
Hear why Elliot is joining The Big Issue Foundation cycling team
Aspirations Week 2013 - Looking towards the future
Read the report here
'Teach a man to fish...' The Oxford Angling Club
Read the report here
Life in the Big Issue Offices
Read more about our work here
Big Issue and Stik
Our mission
Our mission is to connect vendors with the vital support and solutions that enable them to rebuild their lives; to find their own path in their personal journey away from homelessness.
The Need
The Big Issue Foundation is small but national charity. We work with some of the most disadvantaged and excluded individuals in the land; people who have lost more than it is comfortable to imagine, their homes, their families and their sense of themselves in the world.
Nearly 100 people a week turn to the Big Issue for an opportunity to help themselves at a time of utter personal crisis. The Big Issue Foundation strives to support vendors across the country. We urgently need to offer more support and hope for the future.
