Innholdsfortegnelse for 3/22/2021 i The Big Issue

Westminster took the “unprecedented action” of launching the Everyone In scheme on March 26 last year. In total, 37,000 people have been put up in hotels, B&Bs and other emergency accommodation through the scheme – a figure nine times the official rough sleeping count. As well as uncovering the scale of homelessness, the scheme has undoubtedly saved lives – University College London experts found 266 people would have died without the intervention during the first lockdown. Ministers have thrown money at the problem – £750m will be spent on protecting people in hotels and finding them a permanent home, with ministers last week announcing £212m to find 6,000 homes for rough sleepers alongside wraparound support to keep them housed. That model is widely known as Housing First and has been…

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 last year, 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…

At the beginning of the pandemic it was agreed that, given the financial consequences of lockdown, we could all apply, no questions asked, to our banks and loan companies for a mortgage holiday or a breather on debt repayments to avoid expensive arrears. Being in arrears means you have missed one or more payments due on money you owe, be that a loan or mortgage, car finance or buy-now-pay-later agreement. The consequences of being in arrears can be grave. Interest or charges add up and can trap you in a debt spiral, while missed bill payments are added to your credit file and can make it difficult, and costly, to borrow money or get a mortgage in future. In the worst-case scenario, mortgage arrears can result in you losing your…

Going into prison for the first time, it takes some adjusting, I can tell you. You have to follow a regime, learn to live in a cell that is 1.8 metres wide and three metres in length and come to realise how little freedom and control you actually have in there. After a couple of months inside, I began to adjust. I followed the rules, I attended education courses and even had some acquaintances. It was becoming my new normal, until the coronavirus pandemic hit Britain. Prison is always in some form of lockdown though, so we as prisoners didn’t think it could get any worse. We were mistaken though. All education was cancelled, trips to the library cancelled and visits from our loved ones were stopped. We were confined…

We all have our issues some bigger than others Some figure and fix, some call on their mothers Some vent to a friend, pay a doctor to talk Some issue so great that some sleep on sidewalks Too many neglected when issues arise No one to turn to, wipe tears from their eyes The issue is one but so many together From factors of money, divorce and etceterer The issue is here in so many street doors A human, a name, a struggle ignored "Any change?" – not yet, still people sleep rough On a street in a city that's wealthy enough The Issue is big not so easily fixed The causes are more than we'd care to admit If we showed some compassion, a little of give We could…

For most of March 2020 we had been taking extra precautions – wiping down stock and surfaces, washing our hands until they cracked and offering a squirt of (specially permitted!) hand sanitiser to anyone who came through the library door. The notice to close and stay home wasn’t a shock, but it was a surprise that it had come so quickly – we’d left the library on Friday fully intending to open up again on the Monday. My first thought was, how do we get back in and keep library provision going? The thought of being banged up in your prison cell without warning, without anything to do and without any idea as to when the situation might change was seriously concerning for the mental health of the prison population…

A hand up... Our sellers BUY the magazine for £1.50 and sell it on for £3, keeping the difference. Not a handout… Vendors earn a legitimate income, and gain valuable social and employability skills. With your support now, we can continue to help them now and in the future. The right to citizenship… The Big Issue Foundation, our charitable arm, helps sellers to tackle social and financial exclusion. Prevention… Big Issue Invest offers backing and investments to social enterprises, charities and businesses which deliver social value to communities.…

Top stories this week A year on from the first lockdown, the lessons we’ve learned from Everyone In about tackling homelessness Jay Blades on how The Repair Shop is fixing Britain Send in a song you’d like to dedicate to a loved one during Russell Watson’s Big Singalong on April 2! Find out about The Big Issue Jobs & Training helpline for those with work worries Watch exclusive clips from our Line of Duty interview where Vicky McClure and Martin Compston interrogate each other Plus: LoD creator Jed Mercurio on the show’s future…

In the opening pages of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, Pip, the main character, confronts a convict in a churchyard, escaped from the Hulks. The Hulks were old ships converted to prison ships, that lay near shore and were dreadful places to keep people. That was the early 19th century when prison was all about life-threatening punishment and the cruel abuse of power over the lives of wrongdoers. As the century moved on, conditions were marginally improved and land-based prisons replaced many of the old ships. But hard regimes were still insisted on. Prison was largely bad for your health, and there was no sense of reforming you, turning you for the better so that when you returned to society you were unlikely to reoffend. But increasingly the knowledge was developed…

Carl, AKA C Roots Carl recently completed a 16-year sentence at HMP Stanford Hill. He’s been involved with InHouse for a number of years both as a performer and a trainee manager From the age of 14 I played music then just forgot about it. My environment, life, just got in the way. I started back up again in prison, doing electronic beats. Once I linked up with InHouse, we acted more as a band, there was more people playing instruments. I got to grow in my performance, confidence, everything. If it wasn’t for music I wouldn’t be working towards a career. I wouldn’t have something that I love and want to stay in and never be on the police database again. I’m rehabilitated because I choose to be rehabilitated.…

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles A Russian count is sentenced by the Bolsheviks to indefinite house arrest in a Moscow hotel. A witty and inventive bestseller about the power of salvation. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens Another bestseller, this one about ‘Marsh Girl’ Kya and what happens when gentle creatures come up against human cruelty... and the justice system. The Chronicles of St Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor A team of time-travellers investigate a slew of historic events. Expect humour, and lots of action. Maus by Art Spiegelman The Pulitzer-winning graphic novel tells the story of Spiegelman’s father’s experiences in Auschwitz and his struggles afterwards. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend Hapless Adrian’s dogged attempts to a) be recognised as an intellectual and…

Artistic expression doesn’t stop when life becomes challenging and we know that there are many creative people whose circumstances might prevent them being able to sell their work in the usual way. Hopefully you know Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics for our animal & environment friendly products and for the lovely smell of essential oils that drifts from our shops. But did you know that at Lush we often commission artists to provide one-off designs for our gift boxes, wrapping papers and Knot Wraps (our fabric alternative to gift wrap)? Our wish is to provide a platform and paid work for artists of all backgrounds, including those who might sometimes be overlooked and unseen, whether that’s because of homelessness, migration from another country, disability or any other barrier that might be…

NEED HELP? Why not get together with other Big Issue readers on Twitter – @BigIssue Get the answers in next week's mag! Good luck 1. Which juice drink brand was said to be “too orangey for crows” according to their 1980s advertising campaign? 2. Robert de Niro claimed a Best Actor Oscar after playing which boxer in the film Raging Bull? 3. What is the name of the FBI’s headquarters in Washington DC? 4. Who is the lead singer with the Welsh rock band Stereophonics? 5. In which Irish county is the Dingle Peninsula? 6. Which American city did the US leg of Live Aid take place in 1985? 7. Damask, beach and eden are types of which flower? 8. Which Glastonbury-related year is next in this sequence and why…

There are fewer than 100 whole-life tariff prisoners in British jails. That means that almost every single one of those 87,000 people currently inside will be released. The penal service and how it deals with those in jail generates visceral responses. You may take the view that sentences should be longer, that prison as punishment needs to punish more, that the population needs protecting. Or you might think the balance between jail time as deterrent and jail time as a chance for rehabilitation is wrong, because something bad has happened in the past to drive people there. Regardless, the release is a fact. It’s inescapable. There are a huge number of charities and organisations who work with prisoners, who attempt to help them on the inside so they are ready…

Prison is a scary place at the best of times, but the impact of the prolonged prison lockdown has been felt more acutely by women (often primary carers) who had to have their physical contact with children suspended. According to the Ministry of Justice around 80 per cent of the more than 3,000 women in prison have been convicted of a non-violent offence, and pertinently around 17,000 children are separated from their mothers every year by imprisonment. Video calls were introduced further into the lockdown – but they are still too often fragmented by poor-quality connections and technical hitches. I was a mother in prison and I know how painful it is not being able to comfort your children and keep them safe. I dread to think how that must…

As i entered a impeculiar place To were positivity is rare and moodys embraced Were your adressed by a number and government name Surname infact it's alot for my brain Judge sentanced in years over half a decade To do behind the door my heart was stress layed All my friends and loved ones may soon forget me My appearance, my humour, my laughs it left me But at the end of the tunnel there's always light Through the pain and struggle you'll be alright In a battle with your mind, stay focused, you got this! Always stay occupied with what you like theres options If it's music or studying or working your craving Even though it's sheckles for payments You'll feel free like a dove who's let loose into…

March 23, 2020. PM Boris Johnson delivered the news the country expected but still struggled to believe – the UK was going into lockdown in response to what he called “the biggest threat this country has faced for decades”. At The Big Issue, we had already acted. A few days earlier, the organisation had removed all our vendors – more than 1,000 of them – from Britain’s streets with immediate effect. There was no other option. It was the only way we could mitigate the health threat they faced. As our founder Lord Bird said at the time: “Our sellers, many of whom are homeless or rough sleeping, are already highly vulnerable and it is only right that we make this difficult decision to protect their welfare.” But the result…