Big Chillers may well have noticed a new crew in their midst at Eastnor 2008: Big Issue Vendors. The Big Chill invited Vendors to sell their programme this year - and what a result. I watched Vendors make literally thousands of people smile, enjoy an entirely new experience and have a break from life on the streets.

Big Issue Vendors are adept at seeking out hot sales points; it’s what they do every day in the cities where they work. But nothing could have prepared them for the incredible reception they received at The Big Chill.

Their mission was to make sure every Big Chiller who wanted it had access to a programme, which had been developed and printed by The Big Issue.

The Big Chill had also provided a number of laminates (‘lanyards’ - timetable and programme in miniature which hang around the neck) to go with the programme - which proved to be in such strong demand that I’m pretty confident in saying that many, many more of these will be available next year.

The results of our first year at The Big Chill is the evolution of a unique and very important ‘final step’ for the Big Issue Vendors who are ready for it.

It is undoubtedly an exciting step for Vendors and Big Chillers alike. Does anyone else agree that buying the programme from a Big Issue seller can add an irreverent sparkle to a normally quite standard transaction?!

Vendors came to The Big Chill and worked within a model that brings The Big Issue system - helping the homeless to help themselves - a step closer to perfection.

The Vendors earnt a percentage of each copy of the programme they sell at the festival, giving all their sales money to the Big Chill as they go along. They then get paid their individual earnings after the festival. This means they get a lump sum after their period of work - a model much more akin to ‘normal’ work. In this way the festival uniquely facilitates them to earn what is for them a significant final amount - a fact which can mean a world of difference to a Vendor at this stage in their lives. An actual, literal, step up OUT of homelessness.

After becoming homeless through a series of events catalysed by damaging his back whilst working for his own construction company, Eric is about to be sent on a construction vehicle driving course by the Big Issue Foundation, the charity which is a part of The Big Issue. This license will enable him to gain employment in a field in which he has plenty of experience but where without his back he needed a further costly qualification to be able to re-enter. The reality of base-line poverty is that he had no cash to eat and travel during the course, and it was looking like he was going to miss out. Now thanks to Big Chillers he has enough money to see him through the course and when he gets back to support himself before that first job arrives. Eric had this to say about his experiences at The Big Chill;

"I would like to thank The Big Chill for the opportunity to get myself off the streets. No local or national government body has helped me do this. This has been an awesome opportunity for me to help myself, a hand up not a hand out.

The money that I generated from the selling of the programmes, has given me an opportunity for training and a deposit for a house. This weekend I am heading up to Lincoln for a training course to get my license as a telescopic fork lift driver. I hope to then work on the Olympic village, in London.

The music was fantastic, the atmosphere great, the people wonderful…it was definitely a Big Chill.

Thanks to all at The Big Chill, including security and the stewards, who were fantastic.

Thanks to all at The Big Issue and the Big Issue Foundation for this opportunity.

Sincerely, Eric."

Adrian is a keen amateur photographer and whilst working at The Big Chill, he took the pictures which will provide images for The Big Issue, thereby creating a unique Big Chill-born career opportunity for him. Next year we are hoping he will have a press pass and gain priceless experience in the press tent amongst other professional photographers. He has also been able to develop his skill immediately, buying a new lens for his camera.

Many of the Vendors told us how amazing it was for them to simply get out of the city and into a different environment. When life is as intense as being homeless, there is great value in that kind of breathing space!

At the end of the festival, one of the Vendors Mick said that he felt as if he had actually been on a holiday, something that for years he had only dreamed of doing.

All of the Big Chill Vendors can now plan what they will do with their money in advance, with the support of the Big Issue with whom they work every day. This is unusual for people in their situation, where life is often a lot more hand to mouth than that, and it means flat deposits, training, investing in their careers and a step towards autonomy in their lives.

For some it means they can afford to link up with friends and family by buying train tickets for the first time in a while.

It is already apparent that for some it has been the single turning point and opportunity they needed!

Feedback on the Big Chill forum and the Big Chill survey are ways of reaching The Big Chill and Big Issue with your views on what you want in your festival programme. We are listening!

Thanks to everyone who bought a programme and we hope to serve you even better in future!

Lisa Woodman, Big Issue Publisher.

Tags: opportunity, programme, step, work
Posted in Festival | 2,161 views |

This entry was posted on Monday, August 11th, 2008 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Festival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.