35 years of a hand up

Happy birthday Big Issue! To celebrate 35 years of a hand up, in this special anniversary edition we revisit our origin story, hearing from those who were there at the very beginning. Our first edition was published in September 1991, a time when more than 6,000 people were living on the street in London alone. Co-founder Lord John Bird describes the “chaotic, beautiful madness” of those early editions, when no one knew if it would succeed and hearts and minds had yet to be won. Sabrina Cohen-Hatton tells us how being a vendor as a homeless teenager changed her life, and BBC anchor Sophie Raworth recalls how her first ever byline was an article in Big Issue. Dotted throughout the magazine we have 35 vintage covers from across the years, telling their own story of how the magazine has evolved.

Also inside

• 233 million copies of Big Issue have been sold to date. We’ve also got some other really BIG numbers to share
• How a So Solid start in life led to a dream career for singer Lisa Maffia
• In an exclusive interview, Andy Burnham assures us that his rough sleeping plan is not just for Christmas
• We’ve seen a fair number of prime ministers come and go in our lifetime. Which ones made the biggest impression on Big Issue?
• Music megastar Bryan Adams is our newest Big Issue Ambassador! He explains why he feels “compelled” to join our fight
• Dan Bleach was once a Big Issue vendor. The story of his remarkable turnaround, from addiction to playing for England at the Masters Hockey World Cup, is an inspiration
• Comic Angela Barnes has landed her dream job, on tour with the cast of The Archers
• Fresh from his summer Odyssey, Himesh Patel is the voice of Save the Children’s latest campaign to end child poverty
• And longtime London vendor Kelvin Gregory was wowed by a video of himself from 26 years ago, saying it was “surreal” to see his younger self in action

And much more

Buy from your local Big Issue vendor each week. If you don’t have a local vendor you can subscribe online, or make a contribution to support our work with vendors every day – and help people work their way out of poverty with dignity.