Pick Your Path

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<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/pick_your_path_title_image.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="Title image"> Let's begin. You are: [[Dealing with bereavement]] [[In the armed forces]] [[New to the UK]] [[Battling addiction issues]]

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/2_in_the_armed_forces_mitchel_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="in the armed forces"> All you have ever known is the army life. The forces gave you purpose, a roof over your head and no money worries. But your combat experiences have left you with mental health difficulties. You leave the army and [[you manage to hold down a flat and transition into civilian life]] or [[you struggle to adapt to civilian life and you lose your flat]]

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/20_dealing_with_bereavement_mitchel_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="dealing with bereavement"> You've experienced the bright lights of the city and a high-flying career. But family comes first. Your mum started to get sick first. You cared for her as much as you could but she sadly passed away. Dad followed not long after. The loss of your parents was a crushing blow. And the work you loved now just made your grief harder to manage. The long hours took their toll and your relationship soon broke down. Your world fell apart. What do you do next? [[Stay and battle it out in the city]] or [[head to the seaside]]?

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/32_battling_addiction_issues_ashley_barnes.jpeg" width="400" height="400" alt="battling addiction issues"> Growing up in care homes and foster homes in South Shields was not a great start in life. You need a fresh start in a new city. Even though you're just 15, you set out on your own and hitchhike down to London. You're dropped off on Tottenham Court Road and you're terrified. What do you do next? [[Get a job]] or [[seek shelter with a homeless charity]]?

It's been a slow process – but you've made it. Counselling has helped you deal your demons, you've found a job and life is good. This is the end of your journey. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

It's just not what you know. The army culture and the routine is no longer there and it is hard to keep track of all the bills. Your new job is demanding and you just can't cope. With nowhere to go, you feel like you only have a couple of choices: [[Take shelter in a cave]] or [[you ask for help and take shelter in a hostel]]

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/5_you_take_shelter_in_a_cave_mitchell_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="take the shelter in a cave"> How did you find yourself here? It's dark and damp, wet and cold. But with nowhere else to go, it's also home. One month passes. Two months pass. Three, then four, then five. The temperature starts to drop. You can't stay here. You move on and [[you ask for help and take shelter in a hostel]] or you [[walk the coast]]

It takes a lot of courage to admit you're struggling. The shelter is able to connect you with the support you need. This time you have the help to deal with independent life. You have someone to call on when you have a question or worry. It makes all the difference. You can hold down a home, you can get a job. Life seems brighter again. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/7_walk_the_coast_mitchell_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="walk the coast"> Ah the great outdoors! After months in the darkness, it's refreshing to be out on the open road, just you and the dog. You don't know where you're going or how long it will take to get there but, for now, just breathing in the sea air is enough. But two months in and your legs ache, your feet are blistered. Your coastal walk has taken you to Bournemouth. Should [[you ask for help and take shelter in a hostel]] or should you [[ask a Big Issue vendor where you can pitch your tent]]?

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/8_ask_a_big_issue_vendor_where_you_can_pitch_your_tent_mitchell_ceny.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="ask a big issue vendor where you can pitch your tent"> He's friendly and it's nice to speak to another person again. The next day he's convinced you - you're going to try your hand at selling the magazine. You go to the office and the staff are friendly. You're given an induction and the staff arrange for you to see a doctor. Your dog is checked over by the Dogs Trust too. You get help to sort your benefits and after a few weeks you've found a flat. The Big Issue Foundation arranges for help with a deposit and you can move in. It's nice to be indoors for the first time in months. [[You carry on selling The Big Issue]]

Sales are good and you enjoy greeting customers and the chit chat you get while out on your pitch. You start to get involved with The Big Issue Foundation, doing talks to let others know your story. Just yards from your pitch, there is a small craft brewery. There's a job going as a tour guide. You're used to speaking in front of audiences thanks to your Big Issue talks. Do [[you go for the job]] or are you [[happy selling The Big Issue]]?

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/10_you_go_for_a_job_mitchel_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="you go for a job"> Despite some nerves, your test tour goes well, the customers look impressed. Have you got the job? Yes! You'll miss your customers but it's the right step for you. Without The Big Issue, you would not have had the confidence or the skills to take on the role. So you decide to give back, continuing to volunteer with The Big Issue Foundation to help other vendors get to the same position as you. [[Bill's Story]] was the inspiration for this path.

You're comfortable and you know it's been a big step to get to where you are. You decide to stay on with The Big Issue and carry on selling the magazine instead. While you know that The Big Issue serves as a great platform to other things, you know it will provide support for as long or short a time as you need. Your customers are delighted that you're staying. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2015/10/Bill-Webb-06-ero.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="Bill Webb"> The story you have read is based on the life of Bill Webb, a former Big Issue vendor in Bournemouth. To read more about Bill, head to https://www.bigissue.org.uk/vendor/bills-story/. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

Your heart isn't in your work. It's impossible to focus on the job and life doesn't make sense anymore. You try to stick it out but you leave your job and you can't keep up with the bills. With no one to fall back on, you end up on the streets. You don't know who to turn to. You daren't ask for help so for now [[You carry on rough sleeping]]

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/22_head_to_the_seaside_mitchel_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="head to the seaside"> The sea air makes everything feel better. It's a big step just ripping up everything you know and relocating so quickly. But it just felt right. You check into a B&B and settle down for the first night of your new life. The next day you register with all the local job agencies. Work soon arrives, a flat follows, this new life of yours is starting to take shape. [[Can it last?]]

Your employer's business falters, they can't renew your contract and you're made redundant. You pick up part-time work here and there but something's not right. You start to get tremors in your hands and lose weight drastically. The doctor says you have Grave's Disease, an auto-immune disease that attacks your thyroid. Eventually the illness takes its toll and you can't make it through the working day. You collapse at work and you're taken to hospital. When you're finally well enough to go home, you find you have no home to go to. Your landlord is convinced you had abandoned the flat and the rent payments with it. He evicted you. What will you do now? [[Contact the council for help]] or [[end up sleeping rough]]?

The council are able to put you up for five days in a hotel. It's desperately necessary. Doctors told you to rest and you manage to stick to their orders. But at the end of the fifth day there is no sign of anymore help. You're on your own. You [[end up sleeping rough]] anyway

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/25_end_up_sleeping_rough_mitchel_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="end up sleeping rough"> Life on the streets is scary. You're not physically imposing and you worry for your safety. Street life has its own politics to contend with and being in the wrong place at the wrong time is risky. You manage to strike up a friendship with a bigger bloke who looks after you. But this can't go on. You [[decide to ask for help]] or [[You carry on rough sleeping]]

It takes a lot of courage to do it but you have no choice. You end up in an emergency winter shelter in a church. It's no paradise but it keeps the cold at bay. After a few weeks you find a spot in a homeless hostel. At least it's somewhere permanent. You have no independence, no space, but knowing that you have a roof over your head is a weight off your mind and lets you manage your condition more effectively. But you can't do this forever. You see a Big Issue vendor on the street. You strike up a conversation and [[decide to give it a go]]

You start to become entrenched in street life. It's as hard as ever but it's all you've known and you don't trust services enough to ask for help. You've been burned before. You've got no hope, no prospects, nothing to look forward to. Life has become a constant battle. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/28_decide_to_give_it_a_go_mitchel_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="decide to give it a go"> Selling the magazine is hard at first but it quickly gives you an identity beyond being homeless. People talk to you, you no longer feel like an outcast and you make a whole new set of friends. The next step is to get out of the hostel. The Big Issue Foundation give you budgeting advice and realistic goals. The job lets you work flexible hours without the long days of an office job. It's easier to manage your condition. You still work as hard as you can to get our own place to live. You get an unfurnished flat and The Big Issue help you sort out furniture. But you don't want to sell the magazine forever. Do you [[give up The Big Issue and go back to the jobs agencies]] or [[stick with it and hope something will come up]]?

It's the same list of office jobs you found before. You know you can't do it. The hours are gruelling and it's just too much strain on your body. You [[decide to give it a go]] once more and head back to The Big Issue.

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/30_stick_with_it_and_hope_something_comes_up_mitchel_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="stick with it and hope something will come up"> The Big Issue offer you the chance to work with a football club. You do an employability course with the club's foundation and achieve a Level 1 Certificate in Customer Service and a Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Stewarding at Spectator Events. You're going to be a football match steward! After your diagnosis you never thought you'd be involved in sport. But your new job tops up your income alongside your magazine sales. You feel optimistic again. You've managed to get your life back on track, just like [[Julie's Story]]

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2018/02/Julie-Cherry-2.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Julie"> The story you have read is based on the life of Julie Cherry, a Big Issue vendor in Bournemouth. To read more from Julie go to https://www.bigissue.org.uk/vendor/julie-cherrys-story/. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/33_get_a_job_-ashley_barnes.jpeg" width="400" height="400" alt="get a job"> You're a 15-year-old in London. Who is going to take you on? You feel foolish and stupid. The odd pot-washing shift is the best you can get and it barely covers a decent meal, let alone a place to stay. You've got no choice. You must [[seek shelter with a homeless charity]]

You're grateful for a place to stay but you're struggling for ways to fill your time and you become depressed. You make friends and that raises your spirits. You want to fit in. You start joining in drinking sessions, one thing leads to another and someone offers you drugs. The high feels like the only escape you have. As time goes by [[you slip back into addiction]]

It's frightening how quickly you get addicted. And frightening what you will do to get another fix. You’re skint but desperate and wander the busy streets. You find yourself in a shop and there’s no one about. The tools on the shelf look expensive but small enough to fit in your pockets. Surely no one will notice...? Do [[you steal them]] or do [[you walk away]]?

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/36_you_steal_them_ashley_barnes.jpeg" width="400" height="400" alt="You steal them"> You get caught and you're swiftly locked up. Prison's horrible but it's a short sentence. You go cold turkey and are alone with your own thoughts and regrets. You are released but become trapped in a cycle. You come out of prison with no money or prospects, get caught stealing and get thrown back inside. Tired of the grind, you make a promise that next time will be different. You meet a partner who gives you the strength to detox for good. You go into recovery and encourage you to try something new. [[You take yourself to The Big Issue office]]

No, not this time. Drugs have controlled your life for too long. You're going to take control. You're going to get support. You meet a partner and they give you the strength to detox and go into recovery. It's hard but you've promised yourself to make a change. Now you just have to find something to fill the time and raise some cash. Do [[You take yourself to The Big Issue office]] or [[see if one of your old friends can help]]?

Finally! Some structure and purpose to your life. You've got the gift of the gab and you're starting to make money. You're starting to gain confidence and self-belief. You can do well in a job. You can fix your life. You can get clean. You rent a flat, bringing an end the years you have spent on the streets. You're happier than you've been in years. [[You move back up to your native North East]]

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/41_you_use_the_big_issue_as_a_platform_to_improve_yourself_ashley_barnes.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="you move back up to your native north east"> It's good to be back home. Moving with The Big Issue is simple and you pick up right where you left off in London and you're a hit with commuters and staff at the city centre train station where you sell the magazine. You continue to work on your addiction issues and you achieve your dream of sobriety. And you can rent a flat, bringing an end the years you have spent on the streets. You're happy. Do [[you continue selling The Big Issue]] or [[you use The Big Issue as a platform to improve yourself]]?

Selling The Big Issue is brilliant. Not just because of all the people you meet, but also because you will never know where it will lead you. You become a familiar face at the train station. The right person hears about your love of poetry - throughout all this time it has been the one constant in life - and you manage to get a poem published. Opening up to others and asking for help has been a blessing. This path is based on [[Earl's Story]]

It's hopeless. You can't keep up with recovery programmes, you can't kick the habit. Your prospects aren't good. As time goes on, your health conditions mount and life on the streets is a reality you have to face. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

You've found what you love doing. And there is no pressure for you to stop. The Big Issue will continue to support you for as long as you want to sell the magazine. You love talking to commuters, customers and station staff. It might not be much but it's yours. And it's a life that - just a few years ago - you could scarcely imagine. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2018/10/1328_MyPitch-hero.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="Earl"> The story you have read is based on the life of Earl John Charlton, a Big Issue vendor in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. To read more from Earl head to https://www.bigissue.com/vendors/earl-john-charlton-40-newcastle-central-station/ This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/13_new_to_the_uk_mitchel_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="new to the uk"> You recently lost your parents and living with your uncle is not going well. You will do anything to make your life better. You head to the UK with dreams of a new life and one day opening a restaurant. You've always loved cooking and and making people happy. But you speak no English. Where to begin? [[You decide to give The Big Issue a try]] or [[you struggle to find work]]

With no savings you need to earn some money as quickly as possible and find out about The Big Issue. Selling the magazine on the streets is tough but you persevere, learning how to say please and thank you and gradually build up some confidence. [[You strive to learn English]]

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/19_you_struggle_to_find_work_mitchell_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="you struggle to find work"> It's impossible. How can you fill out an application form? How can you put together a CV without knowing the language? You're desperate to work but with no one to turn to for help in this country, homelessness is the inevitable result. This is not the dream move you had hoped for. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/15_you_strive_to_learn_english_mitchel_Ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="you strive to learn english"> The Big Issue not only helps you earn an income, they also arrange language lessons. It's not easy but you know the effort will be worth it. Staff help you write a CV and you hand it out to shops and hotels. You feel the future is uncertain but hope someone will take a chance on you. Will [[you take every chance that comes my way]]? Or is [[it too hard, you can’t do it]]?

You just need a chance to show how dedicated you are. The Big Issue gets you a work experience placement at a vegan cafe. You are delighted! You work hard to show how much you want the job and it pays off! It feels like the first small step towards your dream of opening a restaurant that will have your own name on it. You still sell the magazine part-time. Everything helps you to achieve your dream. This tale is inspired by [[Lavinia's Story]]

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/12/17_you_give_up_mitchel_ceney.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="you feel like your luck will never change"> It's impossible to find a job but The Big Issue is there for you to help you earn an income so you know there will always be food on the table and a roof over your head. You still have your dream job in the back of your mind. You hope you can get there one day. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.

<img src="https://images.bigissue.com/2020/10/lavinia.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="Lavinia"> The story you have read is based on the life of Lavinia Neda, a Big Issue vendor in Cardiff. Read more about Lavinia at https://www.bigissue.com/latest/international-womens-day-lavinias-journey-from-big-issue-seller-to-barista/>. This is the end of your journey. Head back to [[The Beginning]] to make different choices to see how life would have panned out differently for you.