What exactly is THE BIG ISSUE??

OOOOK. As you might have guessed from recent excessive blogging I'm a bit bored due to being in the flat ALONE!  But now I have a chance to rattle on about all the stuff I can't believe I never wrote about. For example... WHAT EXACTLY IS THE BIG ISSUE????/? 

Luckily Wikipedia knows everything. 

The Big Issue is a street newspaper published in seven countries; it is written by professional journalists and sold by homeless individuals. Founded  in 1991. 

The Big Issue is one of the UK's leading social business, and exists to offer homeless people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income thereby helping them to reintegrate into mainstream society. It is also the world's most widely circulated street newspaperold.

To become a vendor one must be homeless or vulnerably housed. The Big Issue recognises, however, that for many people, being housed is only the first stage in getting off the streets; The Big Issue Foundation, a registered charity in England, works exclusively with Big Issue Vendors. They exists to support people in gaining control of their lives by tackling the various issues which lead to homelessness. They provide the information, advice, guidance and support needed to help people move forward and rebuild their lives by helping them take responsibility for themselves, get training and advice, and get help from other vendors.

 The Big Issue  helps the homeless not the hopeless and help them help themselves to stabilise their lifestyles, work on self esteem or skills, and even help them move on with their lives. 

The Big Issue has been described as one of the most successful street newspapers world wide, selling over 300,000 copies a week and listed as the third favourite newspaper of young British people (age 15-24). Venders (the homeless people) buy these magazines for 75p and are sold for £1.50, giving them a 75p profit. (p = pence)

This magazine is also bought and sold in Japan, Australia, Namibia, Kenya and South Africa.

Awwwwwwh. I can't believe I never knew this! (No lie, i never knew they were homeless and these people are EVERYWHERE) This makes me so happy. 'This' meaning charities where you know exactly where you are putting your money.. which happens to be into the very hands of those who really want it. I'm happy that its not ENTIRELY going to crack like they say.. not entirely..  I'm going to start buying them. =)