The Big Issue 3/1/2021

The push to offer people experiencing homelessness access to the Covid-19 vaccine continues to shift gears as medical professionals went mobile to vaccinate more than 200 people in Brighton and Hove. Clinicians at Arch Healthcare teamed up with Justlife, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust and St John Ambulance to visit hostels and other temporary accommodation to give homeless people the lifesaving jab. The partnership is targeting 1,000 vaccinations over eight weeks, according to Arch CEO Gary Bishop. “The process has been really smooth, and we have been received with enthusiasm wherever we go. This is a huge credit to the accommodation providers we’ve worked with across the city,” Bishop said. Similar plans are up and running in Bournemouth, where local charity The HealthBus Trust have announced plans to vaccinate 200 people housed in emergency…

The Big Issue is delighted to announce more than £1m has been given to struggling vendors in lockdown – all thanks to our readers’ support. We hit the staggering target last week and, as the magazine went to print, The Big Issue had supported some 2,110 vendors with £1,062,000 since the beginning of the pandemic. The Covid-19 crisis has been a tough time for everyone, not least Big Issue vendors who lost their incomes overnight. When the UK first locked down last March, we kicked off a determined campaign to distribute cash and supermarket vouchers as well as helping vendors cover rent, fuel and electricity bills, and mobile phone payments. This vital financial support was only made possible by Big Issue readers, who took out subscriptions in their thousands as well as picking up…

A growing number of cities, towns and councils have begun vaccinating people experiencing homelessness. Marcus Rashford and football fans have proven unlikely leaders in the fight against food poverty during the pandemic – now musicians Enter Shikari are calling for a change of tune too. The British band – known for their genre-defying and politically conscious tracks – have announced a T-shirt collaboration with their local team St Albans City with all profits split between the St Albans and District Foodbank in Hertfordshire and Fans Supporting Foodbanks (FSF) in Liverpool. FSF began the movement of football fans tackling food poverty while co-founder and Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne has also spearheaded the plan for Liverpool to become a Right to Food city that has seen Manchester follow suit. The move comes at…

VENDORS Across the country vendors are prevented from working on their pitches by the national lockdown. Our staff is working closely with each vendor to make sure there is extra support to make up for lost earnings. We also understand that apart from reduced income, the lack of social interaction will cause a lot of distress. If you would like to pass a message on to your local vendor please email editorial@bigissue.com and we’ll do our best to make sure they know they still have your support. SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SHOPS Since the first national lockdown in March, we have supported our vendors with more than £1m of financial assistance to make up for lost sales. As the only certainty is more uncertainty, we urgently need your help to make sure we can continue…

SOPHIA LOREN FANS ON FACEBOOK REACT TO OUR INTERVIEW WITH THE CINEMA LEGEND Top quality interview with the amazing Sophia Loren! Guy Cowan A true beautiful woman. Jean Marc Vieille As much beauty inside as out. Michael Caputo Sophia, a warrior of dark times. João Carlos Silva She is my idol forever! Lau Chun Yiu Always beautiful Sophia. No matter what age you are you always captured the world. Rina Cinciripino I respect her, admire her and especially I’ve always been in love. I tell you that I have a cousin who was very much like you and of course I fell in love with her and… Carlos Finck WANT TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR VENDOR? EMAIL US AND WE’LL PASS IT ON! Please pass on my message to Florin who was at the John Lewis store entrance across from the Buchanan bus station in…

The £1m figure is significant. It keeps rolling, proudly, around in my mind. To date, since the start of the Covid crisis, The Big Issue has given £1m to our vendors. That fact bears repeating. The very thought of it just knocks my socks off. It’s not all cash. There have been various kinds of support, including shopping vouchers and utility top-up cards. On one occasion, The Big Issue bought a vendor, laid-low by a chronic condition, housebound and feeling the walls close in, a reconditioned rowing machine. It changed her life. I love that story. It was a big change for The Big Issue to start handing funds out. Since our launch nearly 30 years ago, under the investment of Gordon Roddick and the rocket propulsion of John Bird, we have been a…