May 31, 2020

Ian Duff

Cook up incredible lockdown lunches with Big Issue vendor Ian Duff.

The former chef has been sharing lots of his favourite recipes on his Twitter account while off his Bath pitch. Here he explains how he caught the cooking bug, shares a recipe with Big Issue readers and offers some handy tips to help you make the most of your morsels.

I loved cooking from an early age. I was cooking my first meal when I was eight. It was spaghetti bolognese and I don’t think I used any stock or anything like that. It was pretty bland. But you learn!

May 1, 2020

Stand4 Health Heroes

Social enterprise adapts socks made for rough sleepers to help NHS.

Stand4 Socks has produced their Stand4 Health Heroes sock to give health workers an antibacterial pair as well as homeless people.

A social enterprise that donates a pair of socks to homeless people for every one sold have now produced a new design to help keep health workers well-stocked.

Stand4Socks, who have been working with The Big Issue Shop for many years, have started taking pre-orders for their Stand4 Health Heroes socks while their ethical Sedex-assured factories are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new design features an ensemble of clapping hands and the words ‘Clap for our Heroes’ to mark the weekly tradition that sees the nation come together every Thursday to honour frontline health workers.

April 3, 2020

Big Issue retail

Big Issue to be stocked in major retailers to support vendors who are unable to sell on streets.

From April 2nd, for the first time, The Big Issue, the magazine sold by some of the most vulnerable people to lift themselves out of poverty, will be sold by major retailers.

Sainsbury’s and McColl’s will both be adding the magazine to their shelves to maximise sales in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

It will be available to customers both online and in selected stores and from McColl’s, Martin’s and RS McColl in store as a temporary measure, with the magazine remaining on sale until Big Issue vendors are able to return to work.

March 13, 2020

Off The Streets FC

Shrewsbury Town use EFL Day of Action to launch new homeless initiative.

Off The Streets FC will give homeless people in Shropshire a chance to play football, access mental health services, and eventually, get back to work.

With the optics of football funneled through the lavish, moneyed Premier League, it’s easy to forget that there are 71 clubs in total in the English Football League, of all different sizes across England and Wales. This week, the EFL Day of Action highlighted the impact these clubs are having in their community.

Shrewsbury Town used the day to launch their Off The Streets FC programme in partnership with local homeless day centre The Shrewsbury Ark. The initiative will provide space for those supported by the Ark to come and play football, in a bid to highlight the growing problem of homelessness across Shropshire.

March 6, 2020

Here For Life

The genre-defying film destroying clichés about homelessness.

New film Here For Life encourages us to reject labels and to see beyond false labels. Many of its actors draw on their own experience of homelessness.

When have you been greedy? When were you denied hope? When were you allowed to dream?

These kinds of questions acted as the genesis for Here For Life, a film co-directed by Andrea Luka Zimmerman and Adrian Jackson, the founder of Cardboard Citizens, the theatre group for people who have experienced homelessness.

The film follows 10 wayward Londoners as they tell stories and perform scenes that feel real but may be improvised. There is song, poetry, structured chaos. The film is impossible to define, as are its subjects.

February 21, 2020

Fat Macy’s

Are you being served?

The catering social enterprise which helps the homeless get a place to live.

What people need to escape homelessness is usually tangible: money. But buffeted between hostel and job centre, saving cash is near impossible. That’s why Meg Doherty launched Fat Macy’s, a London catering social enterprise with a difference. As well as giving homeless people the experience they need to get back on their feet in the job market, it centres on a housing deposit grant scheme that removes the biggest barrier for people locked out of getting a home of their own.

After getting a degree in French and English literature in Edinburgh, Doherty took on social innovation and entrepreneurship course Year Here. At the same time, she started working in a North London hostel and was immediately surprised by the reality of homelessness for so many.

February 10, 2020

Resole

The social enterprise giving trainers to homeless and disadvantaged teenagers.

Moosa Nsubuga from south London has been giving expensive trainers to at-risk teenagers and the homeless for the past few years.

Moosa was embarrassed by the quality of donations – particularly clothes – so he launched Resole, an initiative that hands out fresh trainers to the homeless and disadvantaged youths at risk of gang violence and drug abuse.

He and his team offer designer brands such as Gucci, Adidas and Nike. Having prioritised keeping his trainers looking box-fresh, Moosa noticed he had a lot of barely worn shoes. He realised that others would be in the same boat and asked them to donate theirs.

January 20, 2020

Soupahero

Soup bike start-up billed as “think The Big Issue but tastier”.

Jonny Wright and Stu Trewhella have raised £3,000 to create Soupahero, offering homeless people a chance to lift themselves out of poverty by selling soup.

Two entrepreneurs who are behind a new social enterprise hoping to employ homeless people to sell soup have said of the venture: “Think The Big Issue but tastier”.

Jonny Wright and Stu Trewhella raised £3,000 in just 14 days in an online fundraiser to fund Soupahero.

The enterprising London-based pair, who both work in TV, have now set up a limited company and are in the process of buying their first bike and experimenting with flavours for their soups to “punkify” classic flavours.

Jonny and Stu plan to kick off with a bike that has to be tethered to a power point, so aim to launch in Soupahero in London food markets.

January 10, 2020

Do good London

Do good London – the restaurants and cafes that are giving back.

From retraining ex-offenders to feeding the homeless and giving vulnerable youngsters a new direction in life, these London establishments are all places where you really can have your cake and eat it.

215 Hackney
215 Stoke Newington High Street, London N16 0LH

Run by two best friends from Hackney, Ali + Cemal (both who hail from Kurdistan originally) this cafe celebrates Middle Eastern cuisine with influences from Tel Aviv’s street food, Syria and Palestine, all with a East London touch. They donate 20% of their profits to Warchild UK as well as selling books for £5 all of which goes into the WarChild UK Charity Box.

January 6, 2020

R-evolution

How donating old bikes can transform lives.

A charity based in East Riding, Yorkshire, is using bicycles to transform lives. Founded in 2015 by John Marshall, R-evolution is a charity that aims to develop the skills and confidence of unemployed people, homeless people, ex-offenders and people with mental health problems.

The Bike Project

In the UK, millions of old bikes are stored, forgotten and unused, in sheds and garages. The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) reported that in 2018, more than 11,000 damaged bicycles were thrown away, and fewer than one in 10 people attempted to repair their broken bikes.

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Tag: homelessness