Big Issue North

Big Issue North is here for anyone who needs us. You don’t need any qualifications, work experience or ID or an address or bank account to get started. As long as you’re 17 or older, you can work with us, even if you have a criminal record. While a third of our vendors are homeless, the majority are not – people sell Big Issue North for a wide variety of reasons, and if you want to work with us, we want to work with you!

We offer immediate employment, with no need for ID, qualifications, a bank account, interviews or references.

To become a vendor, make an appointment at your nearest office (see our “Where we see to you?” tab). If you have problems getting to an office, you can contact us by phone and we will try to make alternative arrangements.

A member of our team will chat with you to assess whether or not selling Big Issue North is right for you and to look at any additional support you might need. We will also outline our vendor expectations by which we expect all vendors to abide.

When you become a vendor, you will receive a Big Issue North bib and badge so that people know you’re an authorised vendor and you will be be given 10 free magazines to get you started. After your 10 free magazines, you buy magazines from your nearest office for £1.50 each and sell them on for £3, keeping the profit for yourself.

We have many pitches available across the north of England (see map) and we carry out regular outreach sessions to see how vendors are getting on. You will find out more about pitches at your initial meeting.

We help our vendors to access the services they need, including accommodation, training and education, access to GPs, dentists and other health and social support services, provisions such as breakfast clubs and home furnishing packages, and much more!

Buy everything from subscription packages to high-quality merchandise from our online shop, with all profits going to support the people who sell Big Issue North magazine on the streets.

We have four main offices: Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield. We also have a number of smaller offices around the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, but you will need to contact the main office that is nearest to you to get started. They can then refer you on to a more local office to buy your magazines after your initial assessment.

Big Issue North Trust is a registered charity; to make a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/bigissuenorth.

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