Giving homeless people the means to help themselves.

The Big Issue Cymru has offices in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport and several satellite sales points where other organisations sell the magazine to Big Issue Vendors. With operations in both North and South Wales, we offer the most comprehensive coverage in the country in terms of self-help opportunities for homeless people. Across the UK our retailers – Big Issue vendors – are more prolific on the high street than any other retail chain. About 60 homeless vendors sell the magazine on a daily basis, although between the offices we badge up over 400 a year.

Vendors buy magazines from us for 60p, which they then sell for the cover price of £1.20. The Big Issue offers a hand up, not a hand out, and we have found this ethos to be a compelling force that takes homeless people beyond being a victim to being in control of their own lives.

Pity, and often charity can be as debilitating as life on the streets.

The Big Issue is a social business and only uses charitable funding for support services such as training and housing advice, that help the vendors make the most of the opportunities available to them while selling the magazine. The Big Issue offers an alternative to begging. Big Issue vendors are WORKING NOT BEGGING.

Individuals wishing to sell The Big Issue in Wales must provide us with proof that they are homeless. They may bring letters from hostels or other agencies they are involved with or proof they are registered with the local authority as homeless.
When vendors are inducted, they must sign up to a kind of contract, The Code of conduct, agreeing to the aims of The big Issue to move their lives forward, as well as agreeing to a strict set of rules they must abide by. They are then given info on how to sell the magazine effectively and what support services are on offer. They are then issued an official vendors badge. The vendors badge is our guarantee that the vendor is legitimate. The public is at risk if they buy the magazine from non badged vendors, (beggars pretending to be vendors).

Vendors are then assigned a pitch from where they will work. Pitch discipline is maintained through regular outreach rounds by staff. We also liase closely with retailers, the police and city centre teams to ensure that pitches are regulated effectively.

New vendors serve a two-week probationary period before getting a permanent badge. During this time they receive special monitoring and training from staff.

Cardiff distribution office

Mobile outreach