Big Issue sellers in ED

[Domitianus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_with_the_Twisted_Lip

Who knows what lurks under the mournful disguise?

[Gimme]

At least now that the Co-op is opening, the own brand nappies might be a bit better.

Allowing the seriously disadvantaged to avoid the dribbles and the attentions of the poverty snoopers.

[solutions]

wow this has generated a lot of interest! for my contribution I have the following: I used to do some voluntary work for Big Issue on Saturday mornings. It was in the West Country about two years ago.

First I want to say that the vendors were fully supported by the Big Issue office, they had posts allocated to them and there was a local office that was available for the vendors to come in in the mornings, collect their magazines and then they had to go out to their posts. The office had a list of who was allocated on which post. The shop concerned would have given its permission for the Big Issue to have a pitch outside their shop. It was as far as I recall a first come first served arrangement so a vendor could not hold on to a post if they turned up late or didn't come at all. They also had a system whereby newcomers were given a trial run to see how they got on. Any issues like turning up under the influence of alcohol or being in somebody's else's post would be reason for temporary suspension. They were not allowed to swap posts and if anybody just decided to pitch up anywhere they fancied the office would get to hear about it. Also the vendors were like a small family (mainly) all knew each other and lots of chatting about who was doing what went on in the office so the staff would know what was going on.

The office was always very busy so I would think that the best way to make enquiries would be perhaps to find out where the local office is and go in there or ring. Actually these postings have got me interested again! Finally I would like to add that I was very impressed with the way in which most of the vendors took their jobs seriously, adhered to the rules of Big Issue, turned up on time, went on their pitches and made their money. I think it is a great opportunity for people to work within a supportive environment to get back on their feet.

[Milo]

Good post Solutions. Probably the best way to make a charitable donation is not to set up a DD, but to volunteer some time, perhaps some of the time spent on this forum complaining about how difficult it is being made to feel guilty by BI sellers!

[andrew-lynch]

Oh londonloves, this is such a small issue... We as a community must support The Big Issue. Quality of the magazine aside we support the homeless community. Am I right? Come on, cough up! ?1.70 what price is your soul!

(How do you earn a living? Is there a conflict of interest here? Are you in fact looking to acquire this pitch for yourself?)

[Sue]

andrew-lynch Wrote:

We

> as a community must support The Big Issue. Quality

> of the magazine aside we support the homeless

> community. Am I right?

xxxxxxxx

But I thought someone said above that Big Issue sellers were no longer necessarily homeless?

[londonloves]

andrew-lynch-I think you misunderstood my original post-I agree almost exactly with your post?! The intention behind my post was to get people to contact the big issue and work out if they were real vendors in east dulwich-so yes we could support them. so far the big issue has not replied to me-i was hoping forumites might succeed where i failed. I really don't want to support people who have stolen the big issue-which is the only way to get hold of it unless the big issue sell it to you as a vendor-it may sound far fetched but people do it. I can't put out of my mind the stories a pal of mine (a big issue vendor at the time)used to tell me about him and other vendor's being mugged for their magazines-or having them stolen from hostels.Even worse the tales of kids/women being made to sell them by gangs-just like pirate DVDs or knock off fags-and guess what I don't buy those either!Maybe these things only ever happen in the grim northern cities I used to call home-not in sunny London-and call me soft but I would be the type to give 50p to a tramp-I just really don't want to buy a stolen big issue-regular big issue-yes please!

[Sue]

londonloves, don't mean to be critical but do you think you could put some spaces in between some of your sentences?

It's awfully difficult to read when it's a huge lump of text all crammed together :-$

[intexasatthe moment]

Good points though - spaces or not .

[Keef]

Off topic, but just to say that if you post from a mobile phone or something like that, quite often you are not able to go down a line for a new paragraph.

[Sue]

Oh OK, technology beyond my ken :)

Apologies if that was the reason.

Sorry admin, back on topic now.

[londonloves]

Sue- Fair enough, will do!-I forget not everyone is reading from a screen the size of a small picture window as mine happens to be- no techno excuse!

[Sue]

Ta :)

Will save my eyes and my sanity, both of which are in great need of saving :)

[eater81]

I presume that posters speak of the headscarf wearing gypsy woman who hangs out outside of Somerfield? Do not, under any circumstances give anything to that her, she is an unsavoury character of the highest order.

[The Minkey]

"I presume that posters speak of the headscarf wearing gypsy woman who hangs out outside of Somerfield? Do not, under any circumstances give anything to that her, she is an unsavoury character of the highest order."

What evidence do you have to support this statement?

[Sue]

eater81 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I presume that posters speak of the headscarf

> wearing gypsy woman who hangs out outside of

> Somerfield? Do not, under any circumstances give

> anything to that her, she is an unsavoury

> character of the highest order.

xxxxxxxx

What on earth are you talking about?

[Gimme]

Difference between not having somewhere with a roof over your head to sleep and not having a home.

If someone lived in a grubby bedsit, very few people would regard that as a 'home'.

Therefore perfectly possible not to be sleeping on the street but still be homeless.

I think the basic rule should probably be: if you are selling the Big Issue you probably aren't raking it in and are therefore probably worthy of support. Personally I can't understand how people with kids can survive on minimum wage in London, let alone the meager pickings that selling the Big Issue must produce.

The thing I find so unpleasant about the sniping about Big Issue sellers in this thread and others is that the people selling the Big Issue are probably on very low incomes and this is no-doubt being reduced further by people reading this thread and thinking 'I'll not give them anything next time since they are obviously workshy scroungers who are really very wealthy' or something similar. By all means boycott Barclays to reduce Bob Diamonds bonus next year but to hit the very poor in the pocket by sniping and gossiping is pretty destructive behaviour.

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> andrew-lynch Wrote:

> We

> > as a community must support The Big Issue.

> Quality

> > of the magazine aside we support the homeless

> > community. Am I right?

>

> xxxxxxxx

>

> But I thought someone said above that Big Issue

> sellers were no longer necessarily homeless?

[bookhopper]

http://www.bigissue.com/downloads/user/code_of_conduct.pdf

Big issue sellers are not allowed to :

Sit/lie down whilst selling.

be aggressive or be abusive in any way shape or form to the public

be looking after a child under the age of 16 whilst selling

THEY NEED TO HAVE A NAME BADGE AND (MAYBE JUST SOME...?) A UNIFORM. DO NOT BUY OFF ANY WHO DO NOT HAVE A BADGE. IF IN DOUBT, ASK!

Hope this helps :)

[The Minkey]

"Difference between not having somewhere with a roof over your head to sleep and not having a home.

If someone lived in a grubby bedsit, very few people would regard that as a 'home'.

Really? I don't get that.

While a bedsit might not be home in the sense of 'home sweet home', having lived in a few grubby bedsits in my time, I would never have called myself homeless - a bedsit, grubby or not, giving me a bed, a roof, somewhere to wash and (limited) cooking facilities. Plus the all-important fixed address.

Are students living in bedsits homeless?

[Gimme]

Good question about students in bedsits.

Not sure. Maybe you are right. Maybe living in a grubby bedsit means you shouldn't be allowed to sell the Big Issue to try to sustain yourselves. What about a squat? Are you homeless if you live in a squat? I suppose there probably a lot of people who call squats home and therefore aren't homeless.

Its a good question Minkey. Maybe it is only a home if you consider it to be a home. So maybe anyone who doesn't think of the place they live as a home is homeless. But that opens up lots more questions....

Anyway, still think that having a pop at people struggling on the breadline and selling the Big Issue to make ends meet is unpleasant and unfair. That comment about the Big Issue seller buying Pampers rather than home brand nappies still makes me squirm.

[woofmarkthedog]

Well...

Maybe the Big issue lady and the door knocker woman could team up

In a Bonny & Clyde kinda way

Then all the curtain twitchers, snoops & social engineers could report back on their activities

On a thread titled " Meh, they're at it again "

W**F