Joel's story
I was born in Belize and adopted at the age of 4. My adopted father was in the Navy so we moved around a lot. I eventually moved to London but things didn’t work out and I ended up on the streets. Whilst living rough I met a Big Issue vendor who told me about the magazine, so I decided to walk through the doors of The Big Issue in August 2009 and have never looked back. Selling is like a real job: I was on my pitch early every day and worked an 8-10 hour day. It showed people I’m hard working, that I make my own money and run my own business.
During the summer of 2010, The Big Issue Foundation asked Joel if he would like to join the vendor placement programme at the law firm, Freshfields. Every Thursday Joel has been selling the magazine in their office, gaining valuable work experience, establishing some fantastic contacts and improving his business and communications skills.
I’m lucky enough to have a special new pitch inside New Street station, arranged with Network Rail. It’s a great place to sell the magazine, with so many people coming and going. It must be one of the busiest places in the country, but there is still time to have nice little talks with some of my customers.
Ken started vending in Birmingham in February 2015. He is a returning vendor. In October 2016 he was featured in the My Pitch column in The Big Issue:
I was born here in England but my family moved to Canada when I was young. I was there for about 30 years, before I moved to London in the mid-’90s.
My name is Paul, I’ve been a Big Issue vendor for about two years now. My usual pitch is in Bristol, at Wine Street and Corn Street. It’s a busy area with loads of passers-by because of the market down Corn Street. It’s a farmers’ market on a Wednesday and a flea market on a Friday and Saturday and it brings a lot more people down the street. The people have been friendly, I consider myself a good people’s person who makes friends easily and a good salesman. I’ve got a lot of regular customers.
I have been selling The Big Issue in Muswell Hill for about seven years. There are a lot of nice people around here and it has a nice villagey feeling. I get all the gossip and I am a bit of a social worker too.
I’ve been selling the magazine here for three years. It’s gone really well – it’s a nice part of the world. My regular customers have helped me get back on my feet.
My name is Marc. I started selling The Big Issue fifteen years ago.
My name is Jane Fullerton, I’m 59 and I’ve been a Big Issue vendor since November 2011. I first heard about The Big Issue when John Bird was talking about it on the radio. My husband had passed away a year earlier, I was living on my own, I was unemployed, and I thought: do I or don’t I? I decided to go for it, and I haven’t looked back since.
I’ve been selling the magazine in the Clifton area for the past few years now. It’s a really nice part of the city – lots of big houses. Before than I sold the mag in Plymouth and Cardiff – I moved around quite a lot during my time sleeping rough on the streets.