Monday
My busiest and my favourite time is when vendors come in to purchase the new magazine and I find out how they did with their sales the previous week. Chatting with vendors in the morning also gives me the chance to find out how they are. We have quite a few new vendors at the moment who need encouragement and support.
Later I meet a vendor who is rough sleeping and desperate to get into a hostel. His mental health is bad and he is struggling to cope. I encourage him to see the Homeless Health Care Team. Over 50 per cent of our vendors manage mental health issues.
Tuesday
We are planning a week of activities in November to help vendors manage their health. One vendor, Ian Duff [pictured above with Sam], suggested running a healthy eating session. An ex-chef, he is setting up a social enterprise called DuffCooks, to help people learn basic cooking skills.
Every Tuesday the local rough sleepers’ Outreach Team join us on our outreach. We visit pitches and see how each vendor is doing. Chatting with vendors on their pitch allows them to be more open.
Wednesday
In Bristol for a meeting about how we can offer our services to more vendors. We are planning to link with support agencies near some of our rural pitches. As a small team it can be tricky to get out and about, so will use our fantastic team of volunteers to help.
Thursday
A new volunteer starts with us this morning. Lauren is from America. She is here until December, so my colleague, Jim and I chat with her about what she would like to get involved in. Lauren is studying English so she is going to write case studies about our vendors to put up in local cafes near their pitches.
