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 bodo vendor Jessica talking about Dortmund.

James Jenkins sells Real Change from his pitch at the QFC grocery story on Broadway and Pike Street in Capitol Hill. Jenkins has Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a rare neurological disorder that makes working nine-to-five unfeasible for him. He enjoys working as a Real Change vendor because it offers him the flexibility to work on the days that he feels well enough to do so.

Earlier this month, the Organisation for World Solidarity (OEW), publishers of INSP member zebra., celebrated the five-year anniversary – and 50th issue – of the street paper with a party in its home base of Brixen, in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy.

Jan became homeless in 2000 and moved to Vienna from the Czech Republic seven years ago. He has struggled to secure long-term employment as a result of his visual impairment and returned to his work as an Augstin vendor earlier this year. Here, he talks about the importance of community and the experiences that led him back to Augustin.

Like INSP, this year Montréal street paper L’Itinéraire is celebrating its 25th anniversary. In a special edition of the magazine to coincide with celebrations of the milestone, L’Itinéraire vendor Jean-Paul Lebel wrote candidly about his break-up, drug use, how he got involved selling the street paper and the effect that has had on his life.

Keira sells The Big Issue from her pitch at Miranda train station, Sydney. She has been working for The Big Issue since leaving school and is grateful for the community that exists among those working for the paper. Keira has been a wheelchair user since having an operation to remove a brain stem tumour when she was eight and has been a long-time advocate for those who use wheelchairs. She views her work as a vendor as another important aspect of her efforts to increase awareness.

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 Scarp de’ tenis vendor Sergio Gatto talking about Naples.

34-year-old zebra., vendor Palmer is originally from Nigeria. He spoke to the street paper about his childhood, looking for work and how much he enjoys talking to the elderly as he’s selling the street paper.

Summer may be over, but due to pollution, the trapping of heat in urban areas and global warming, the autumn months may not prove to be much cooler for people living on the streets. In a periodic column about the parts of homelessness most people don’t talk about, Street Roots vendors talk about the burden of living on the streets when the weather is hot.

Mjongeni Malanti is a single father and a man of many talents. He is quick to learn, has many different skills and finds great pleasure in photography. Malanti believes in persevering, no matter what obstacles are in his path.

CEO selling events are a staple way for street papers to drum up interest and educate both high-flying business people and celebrities, as well as regular members of the public, on the work they do. South Tyrol’s zebra. held their first ever such event earlier this month, inviting sports brand mogul Heiner Oberrauch to sell the street paper with vendor David Charles for an afternoon. The magazine’s editor Lisa Frei reports back on how it went.

Remus has previous for selling street papers. In fact, he’s a bit of a veteran after a six-year stint as a vendor in Amsterdam. Now, he is selling The Big Issue in London, and using the skills he has learned to hone his craft in this new environment. He will also get the chance to utilise The Big Issue’s new contactless payments scheme.