With a mix of national news, local interest features and interviews with international celebrities, The Big Issue Cymru has been in Wales for over 10 years.

The Big Issue Cymru was launched in Cardiff in May 1994 as a social business (not a charity), with the same aims as its sister papers throughout the UK. We produce a Welsh magazine, sharing copy with other Big Issue editions but placing a clear emphasis on the Welsh identity of the product. We believe in giving homeless people the means to help themselves by earning a legitimate income and expect all Big Issue vendors to work with us to improve their circumstances. Recognising the debilitating effects of homelessness and the causes of homelessness, we provide support services to help vendors make the most of the opportunity. Every year we make contact with 100’s of vendors and are able to offer support, and we annually exceed targets of helping 15 vendors find accommodation per year.*

By earning an independent income in this way vendors (the majority of whom are young, single and homeless) are able to regain their confidence and self-respect. Many have gone on to find permanent accommodation and work, thanks in part to the opportunities offered by The Big Issue Cymru.

The Big Issue Cymru has three distribution offices: Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. These offices currently service north, south and west Wales, with vendors travelling into the offices from surrounding areas to collect their magazines. We also work with other organisations in Wales who distribute the magazine on our behalf. The offices sell an average of 12,000 magazines between them each week. The Big Issue works with over 400 homeless people a year.

John Bird launched The Big Issue in London in 1991 with help from Gordon Roddick, chairman of the Body Shop.

Homeless and recently housed people retain at least 50% of the cover price when they sell the magazine. It was launched as a response to the growing homelessness problem and provided homeless people with an alternative to begging. The aim of the organisation is simple: to help homeless people to help themselves. It gives them the opportunity to earn a legitimate income, gain financial stability and increase their self-esteem.

To fulfil our aim we produce a magazine for homeless vendors to sell. The magazine is a general interest/current affairs publication and is read by over a million readers a week throughout the UK. The Big Issue has become one of the most respected publications in the UK and is recognised as the place for campaigning exposés and exclusive interviews.

The relationship between The Big Issue and its vendors is one of wholesaler and retailer. All vendors are essentially self-employed and have to operate as individual business people. They have to abide by a strict code of conduct and risk losing their badge if they commit any breaches of the code.

Since The Big Issue was established in London it has gone from strength to strength with issues produced in Scotland, Wales, the North and the South West of England. The Big Issue has also been launched in Australia and South Africa and created the International Network of Street Papers supporting and working with other street papers throughout the world.