JUNE 18, 2020
C I T Y H U B SY D N E Y. C O M . AU
FREE
@CityHubSydney
During Covid-19 lockdown, the homeless couldn’t sell this life-saving magazine
BIG ISSUE VENDORS BY JOHN MOYLE ven in the pre-Covid hustle and bustle of city life, the one sight that was welcomed and we always had time for was our local The Big Issue vendor. Along with much of our city life, The Big Issue retailer has been missing from the landscape for around three months as more than 800 vendors around the country have had to retreat from the streets for their own safety and that of their customers. “We deal with the most vulnerable people and they are exposed on the streets,” Chris Campbell, Operation Manager, The Big Issue said. “A lot of our vendors depend on the money from The Big Issue and we had to try and
E
balance those two kind of conflicting issues and how to support them when their incomes stopped. Due to Covid-19, The Big Issue made the decision to suspend operations on Friday 27 March and head into a digital space to keep the magazine alive while providing some urgent relief for the vendors most impacted by the closure. “The way that we are dealing with the digital subscriptions is that we have broken it up into two parts, with a hardship fund for the most vulnerable vendors who can contact us, and the other is that we have set up a fund to help them relaunch their business as we relaunch the magazine and go back to street sales,” Chris Campbell said.
PAGE 1-2
Based on a successful UK model, The Big Issue has been part of Australia’s urban landscape since it was launched here in 1996. Since then, more than 7,000 people have sold over 13 million copies of the magazine that has seen $31 million go directly to the vendors. The fortnightly magazine is sold by vendors who buy it for $4.50 and sell it for $9, with circulation currently around 22,000 magazines a fortnight. Glenn F has been selling outside Woolworths near Central Station on Foveaux Street and like many vendors has a harrowing back story. “Before The Big Issue I was looking for work but due to my arthritis and having some disability in my hands and feet I
didn’t work for about 12 years…” Glenn said. “The Big Issue is a job that I thought I wouldn’t stick at because I had so much going on with my mum passing away a few years ago and some other complications, but they have supported me through the rough times I have had over the past 12 years.” The Big Issue sellers are noted for being gregarious and always looking for a chat but once the lockdowns took hold they often found themselves being isolated, as well as being with an income. Because Glenn lives about an hour from his spot at Central he has not had any contact with his customers and is at times finding this disconnect hard. Continued on page 2