Having sold the street paper for 15 years, L’Itinéraire’s Daniel Grady explains the reasons why he’s thankful for it as we reach the end of another year.

Everyone who is a part of the global street paper network knows what a street paper is – that extends to the staff that put each publication together and those who buy them. But the people who truly know what a street paper is – what it means – are those who sell them. Here, a collection of street paper vendors – from North Macedonia to Canada – tell us, in their own words, what a street paper is, personally to them.

INSP compiled the thoughts of those who sell street papers – made up of some of society’s most marginalised people – on how climate change, environmental disaster and extreme weather affects their everyday lives.

#VendorWeek is a time to celebrate vendors but, such is the nature of their lives, sometimes tragedy strikes, and it is good to remember that, and the people that tragedy touches, too. Earlier this year, Montréal-based paper L’Itinéraire lost one of their vendors. Stéphane Avard was a bright and loving person worn thin by years of homelessness, and his story speaks to the relationship between sleeping rough and mental illness. The magazine’s editor wrote a touching tribute.

Each month we bring you a round-up of front pages that have been sold on the streets by our vendors in 35 countries around the world.

Benoit Chartier sells L’itinéraire from his pitch at the corner of Bercy Street and Ontario Street East in Montreal. He has been a vendor for 20 years and credits his work with providing him with respite from feelings of isolation by enabling him to meet people and to be part of the wider community. He has a message for both L’itinéraire and his customers: “Bravo!”

To mark the end of INSP’s 25th anniversary year, we have been asking vendors across the street paper network to write a letter to their 25-year-old self. Today, L’Itinéraire vendor Maxime writes words of encouragement to his younger self.

Happy Halloween! The end of October is nigh, and we’re ready to dust off the cobwebs and send shivers down your spine with our round-up of covers from the past month.

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.

We’ve rounded up the best of the street paper covers we’ve seen being sold on the streets this September.

INSP has been celebrating its 25th anniversary all year with events and projects, and sharing stories and memories. With more happening this month and towards the end of the year, INSP spoke to members of the network also celebrating the quarter of a century milestone in 2019 about what has changed and what is to come.

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.

Linda Pelletier is a L’Itinéraire vendor who sells the paper from her pitch at Marché Maisonneuve in Montréal. She has faced many challenges in her life and now considers herself as one of the many good writers at L’Itinéraire. Here, we learn more about her experiences earlier in life and her journey through trauma to self-acceptance. Now, aged 64, she can appreciate the beauty within herself.

We recently crowned the winner of our People’s Cover Award – find out who took home the top prize, and take a look at the other covers making a splash and being sold by our vendors around the world.

Our picture gallery of the 2019 INSP Awards. Relive the highlights!

The winners of the 2019 INSP Awards have been revealed at the official Awards Ceremony, as part of the Global Street Paper Summit in Hannover, Germany.

It’s time to reveal the final set of 2019 INSP Awards Finalists, with the Top 6 entries up for our new award honouring Best Partnership.

Isabelle Raymond, a L’itinéraire vendor based in Montréal, has always been sensitive to the differences between people. As a child, she recalls trying to educate her classmates when they made fun of students at a nearby school for children with special needs. When her sister was born with several health needs, and later diagnosed with intellectual disabilities, Isabelle gained privileged insights into what life is like for someone with special needs.

The Best Vendor Contribution Award recognises the top contribution to a street paper by their vendors. Here are the Top 5 Finalists for 2019.

As the 2019 INSP Awards draws closer, we’re bringing you the Finalists in each category over this week and next, and we’re continuing today by announcing the Top 5 Entries for Best Cultural Feature.

As the excitement continues to build for the 2019 INSP Awards, we will be announcing the Finalists in each category over the next fortnight – starting today with the Top 5 Entries for Best News Feature.

From 78 entries, we’re down to the final five – it’s time to reveal the Best Cover Finalists for the 2019 INSP Awards.

Best Cover is always one of our most hotly contested INSP Awards, and this year is no exception, with a record 78 entries in this category from street papers around the world!

We’re continuing to announce the nominees for the Editorial categories of the 2019 INSP Awards, and next up is the Top 10 for Best Vendor Contribution.

Réjean is a one-man band – an extremely talented individual. Here, he talks about his love of music, a more dangerous and temperamental love of alcohol, giving it up, using his talents for those in need and finding himself a L’Itinéraire vendor.

We’re continuing with our 2019 INSP Awards announcements, and today it’s the Top 10 Entries for Best Cultural Feature.

We’re delighted to reveal the first set of nominees for the INSP Awards 2019 today, and we’re kicking off with the Top 10 Entries for Best News Feature.

Jason and Brendan are members of The Squeegee Punks, which is a well-known group who wash windscreens for money in Montréal. When the city’s street paper L’Itinéraire asked them about whether it was possible to find love on the street, both men looked back in amazement: “Why can’t we?”

Montréal street paper L’Itinéraire opened its doors to readers, partners, and any other interested members of the public, for yet another ‘Journée Portes Ouverts’ (Open Doors Day) to celebrate #VendorWeek.

In collaboration with The Big Issue, vendors from street papers across the world have been sharing some insider tips on the cities they live and work in, which we are sharing during #VendorWeek. Here, L’Itinéraire vendor Tuan talks about Montréal.

Yannick, a L’Itinéraire vendor whose pitch is at Jacques-Ferron Library in Longueuil, Canada, is undergoing gender reassignment. Over the next few weeks, they will see their body start to change as they commence the physical transition towards becoming Yannick. As the process begins, they will no doubt face numerous questions from customers and loved ones alike – something that is only natural when many people don’t know much about gender reassignment. So, what is there to know about the process? We asked Yannick to tell us more.

Cindy sells The Big Issue on the streets of Adelaide. Lynn sells L’Itinéraire on the streets of Montréal, Canada. The blazing heat has officially hit Cindy’s city, while Lynn shivers through snow and ice. Sitting in vendor offices on either side of the world, they stare into computer screens and greet each other ahead of #VendorWeek 2019.

Luc Lenoir is 59 years old and sells L’Itinéraire from his pitch at the corner of De Maisonneuve and Saint-Denis Streets in Montréal, Québec. He is a L’Itinéraire pioneer: Luc has been involved with the magazine since the mid-90s and was one of the organizers of its launch. He credits the magazine with helping him to forge meaningful relationships with others and providing him with independence.

This year we asked vendors: if you could give a song as a present this Christmas, what would you choose? The result was the INSP Vendor Playlist, which is now available for your listening pleasure. A handful of L’Itinéraire vendors talk about their particularly festive choices for the #VendorPlaylist.

37-year-old Mélanie Noël sells L’Itinéraire from her pitch at the Verdun metro station in Montreal, Quebec. Here, she looks back on a childhood spent moving from home to home and her troubled relationship with her sister, while affirming how positive her time as a L’Itinéraire vendor has been. She loves her work and has found strength through relationships forged with friends and mentors.

Today we bring you the first Finalists in our Impact categories, for the Best Online Presence from the street paper network.

With just two weeks to go until the INSP Awards 2018 are presented, we reveal the Finalists for Best Vendor Contribution.

Our final Editorial category to be revealed is the Top 10 nominees for Best Vendor Contribution – here’s who made the list…

Working as a L’Itinéraire vendor has put a smile back on Antoine Dereochers’s face. Here, he looks back on his past and reflects on his experiences of living without a permanent address. He also talks about his experiences as a vendor and thanks his customers for their support and encouragement.

We’re delighted to announce the first set of nominees for the INSP Awards 2018 today, and we’re kicking off with the Top 10 Entries for Best News Feature.

Readers of L’Itinéraire might not be familiar with the name Mario Alberto Reyes Zamora; however, they are more than likely to be familiar with his photography, which is regularly featured in the magazine. L’Itinéraire finds out more about Mario’s background, his work as a photographer and his recent move into subsidised housing.

Another month is coming to a close, meaning it’s time to reflect on the street paper covers that have been making waves amongst vendors and readers alike during March.

With entries for the 2018 INSP Awards opening very soon, has February delivered us any potential winners in the Best Cover category?

In honour of #VendorWeek 2018, Megaphone vendor James Witwicki and L’Itinéraire vendor Yvon Massicotte had a ‘face-to-face’ interview to swap experiences of how both wound up selling street papers.

Canadian street paper L’Itinéraire welcomed their readers, community organisations, sponsors and partners into their Montréal offices for their first-ever “Journée Portes Ouvertes” (Open Doors Day).

To celebrate #VendorWeek 2018, The Big Issue Australia took an in depth look at the ways street papers around the world are creating extra employment opportunities for the people who need them most. And what better way to learn about them than from the people who are employed by and benefit from them. Social enterprises featured in the article come from these INSP members: The Big Issue Australia, =Oslo, The Curbside Chronicle, Shedia and L’Itinéraire.

As 2017 draws to a close, we asked vendors across the global street paper network to look back on the highs and lows of their year and reveal their hopes and aspirations for the next one. First up is Jean-Claude, a L’Itinéraire vendor.

Time to reflect back on the unsung month of November, and the impressive bunch of street paper covers we’ve seen around the world in the past 30 days.

The 2017 ceremony countdown is well and truly on – and here’s our fab five finalists in the Best Vendor Contribution category.

We’ve been having a blast looking at the highlights from July of what our network has been producing.

INSP is very proud to announce that a ground-breaking 1 million words have been downloaded from the News Service’s updated online platform since December of last year. Here’s a look at why.

Simon first ended up on the street at the age of 16, where crime and drug use got him into trouble with the law. He eventually found stability and started a family, before the death of his father led to another downward spiral. Now he sells L’Itinéraire, and says it probably saved his life.

The final set of nominees are here – have a look to see who’s made the top ten in the Best Vendor Contribution category.

They’re both North American street paper vendors, yet over a recent Skype interview James and John – from Montréal and Portland respectively – discovered that Canadian and American vendor life can be very different.

“Despite all the tough situations I’ve been through, I know the best is yet to come,” says L’Itinéraire vendor Tania. Having experienced poverty and teenage pregnancy in her youth, Tania has been hurt many times. But she says selling L’Itinéraire is like an oxygen mask – now she has helped herself, she wants to help others.

Our special vendor wishes series continues with a heart-warming message and festive greetings from Jean-Guy in Canada.

International street paper staff and vendors responded with surprise and apprehension following the election of Donald Trump as the next President of the USA.

Between Halloween and Trump, there’s a frighteneing vibe on this month’s international street paper covers. Thank god for Street Cat Bob…

August’s street paper covers have the Olympic spirit, featuring ‘cuddly lawnmowers’, a homeless wedding, Steven Spielberg, and a cheeky little bit of rickrolling.

Canadian vendor Jo assesses how a lack of sex education affected her life choices. And are younger generations really better educated or just more exposed?

L’Itinéraire vendor Jo believes Canada’s controversial prostitution bill “isn’t suited to the reality of sex work” and hopes more sex workers can “find the courage to speak out and share their point of view.”

A gloriumptious look at the world of Roald Dahl, a red-haired mischief-maker, a mafia flower plot and Yanis Varoufakis at the INSP Summit… explore June’s street paper covers.