... training, health care, and mental health. The vendors get the opportunity to learn basic life skills, to share, and to belong to a family. They gain confidence, dignity, self-esteem, optimism, aspiration, as well as the ability to anticipate, and develop an entrepreneurial spirit. The Big Issue was conceived as a radical alternative to charity and government-funded social initiatives because its founders believed that most grant-funded responses to social problems can encourage dependency and a sense of helplessness among those in need. A total of 51,000 ‘unemployable’ people have been inducted into the vendor programme since launch. Over the last 10 years, the magazine has sold over 50 million copies, generating over £25 million in income for its vendors. "

And the aims of the Big Issue are to:
• Enable homeless people to earn a legal income through opportunities to help themselves
• Invest profits in services to help homeless people and Big Issue vendors tackle obstacles to them helping themselves
• Provide people with a voice in the media
• Produce a quality magazine which engages readers with issues that affect their lives but are overlooked by other media
• Provide an example of a socially responsible business and an alternative to conventional charity as a response to homelessness"
::The Big Issue [by WM]

PS: In the US and elsewhere, similar programs can be found through the Street Papers website.

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