Hand-up, not a handout

haVe you ever, when you’re out and about in our towns and cities, noticed needy-looking people selling the Big Issue magazine? Do you avoid eye contact and veer away?

I used to do all that, until I recently bought and read a copy — and it changed my perceptions.

I had thought the Big Issue was a politically subversive publication. In fact, it has a wide variety of diverse and intelligent articles.

Its political slant comes only from the complicated issues surrounding homelessness. Its aim is to allow poor and needy people the opportunity to purchase the magazine for £1 and sell it at £2.50 — a ‘hand-up’ to starting their own business, rather than a ‘handout’.

I spoke recently to a young woman who sells the magazine in my small local town. she has a two-bus journey to get to her ‘pitch’, which takes one to two hours, depending on the traffic. she works a seven-hour day there, five days a week.

she usually sells five or six copies a day, so makes around £40 profit a week. she leaves her one-year-old son in the care of a relative who has two small children.

I stood and chatted with her for

about 20 minutes, and although it was a busy Saturday, no one else bought a magazine (although one lady did smile and give her £1).

How many people make assumptions about The Big Issue and avoid the sellers, who are desperate to make a living?

Talk to your local seller: they’re human, too. Ask them their story, because it might surprise you.

The magazine is an interesting and entertaining read, and you’ll be making a difference to someone who needs a ‘hand-up’, not a handout. ANITA DOW, West Malling, Kent.