Vendors of The Curbside Chronicle documented their lives through a disposable camera photo essay with a magic hour theme for the Oklahoma street paper’s 55th issue, with some stunning results.

Lothar is a Draussenseiter vendor with an extraordinary connection to the outside world: he loves to walk. And we’re not just talking about rambling or hiking here: after he set off on his first walk in July 2016, Lothar walked over 2,000 kilometres around Germany. His walks allow him to indulge in his love for nature, to let his mind wander and to discover new things. They have also taught him that less is more.

Health care is a hot topic in the United States and the debate about health care is likely to be a key issue in the run up to the presidential election in 2020, and differing opinion on how it should be reformed has already been core to the ongoing Democratic Primary. The prohibitively high costs of accessing health care, combined with the high number of people without medical insurance, means that many Americans cannot access the care that they urgently need. Two vendors talk to The Contributor about their experiences of the American health care system.

Previously, INSP brought stories from those living on the streets of Berkeley, published in the city’s street paper Street Spirit, that told tales of paranormal experiences, brushes with what could have been actual ghosts and, more eerily, the ghosts of memory. Here are two more pieces of writing, also by people who have experience of homelessness, which talk more about the truthful horrors that can occur while homeless.

To coincide with Halloween, Berkeley, California’s Street Spirit asked those who lived on the city’s streets for chilling, ghostly stories intersecting with their experiences of homelessness.

Randy Humphreys has been working as a Street Roots vendor for a few months and experiences great enjoyment in his work. He enjoys the contact that he has with his customers and is focusing on leaving his past behind him and moving forward with his life.

The Big Issue has been reaching out to vendors across the street paper network to get the inside scoop on the cities they know best. This instalment features Faktum vendor Eija talking about Gothenburg.

Last summer, Sylvie was left reeling after she lost everything. But there was something that helped her to get through: L’Itinéraire. Thanks to her time as a vendor years earlier, she was aware of the support that was available for women experiencing homelessness. But it wasn’t easy to secure the help she needed. Now, Sylvie has a room for her own and is appreciative of the friendships that she has formed within the L’Itinéraire community.

As Toledo Streets celebrates its 10th anniversary, its original founder writes about its inception and the events that led to it, as well as the struggles of setting up a street paper in a relatively small city and the breakthroughs that meant it could establish itself and carry out its mission.

Standing in the corridor outside the exit gate of Hsinchu Railway Station, Li-qiu is waiting for customers to buy copies of Big Issue Taiwan from her. She is still adjusting after moving to her new pitch less than a month ago after construction work started at her old one. “I’m trying to get used to it. I’m not quite familiar with the environment and customers over here,” she says. Despite the fact that sales have been slow today, Li-qiu thrives on her contact with customers and is happy to be working.

The Big Issue has been reaching out to vendors across the street paper network to get the inside scoop on the cities they know best. This instalment features Nota Bene vendor Peter talking about Bratislava.

Nikola Babic, 50, sells Surprise in the centre of Langenthal, Switzerland. He moved to Switzerland from Serbia five years ago and has remained in Switzerland because of political problems in his home country. He contacted Surprise while struggling to find work and is grateful to have been given the opportunity to become a vendor. He is looking forward to spending his remaining years before retirement doing the very best he can at his work.