Free phones are helping 400 people find work after homelessness and unemployment

Ainoa Lopez doesn’t have a dream job in mind. All she knows is that she wants to help people.

“I’ve been working for many years with vulnerable people, and I like it. My background is in theatre and puppetry,” she tells Big Issue.

“Art is something to put your head into that is outside of your problems. Because the brain needs a break. And it’s something to look forward to, right?”

Despite spending years in and out of homelessness herself, Lopez has long volunteered to help others grow: facilitating drama workshops for people with learning disabilities and running community theatre in prisons.

Now, thanks to a groundbreaking partnership between Big Issue and giffgaff, she might be able to make this passion her full-time job – and get her own life back on track after years spent homeless.

“I was not in a great place,” Lopez explains. “But the phone and the support – it’s a game changer.”

Last year, Big Issue and giffgaff began rolling out refurbished smartphones to vendors across the country. The devices help sellers take contactless payments – boosting earnings by an average of 30% – as well as enabling them to stay in touch with loved ones and access essential services.

But it’s not only vendors who suffer digital exclusion. Many job applications, interviews and training programmes are now exclusively online. Government figures show that more than 22% of working-age people without internet access are unemployed, compared to just 3.8% nationally. That’s why giffgaff is going further to support Big Issue Recruit (BIR) – Big Issue’s specialist recruitment service – providing 400 jobseekers with phones and data to power their job search.

“For people like Ainoa, that digital lifeline, paired with a dedicated job coach, is the difference between missing opportunities and seizing them,” says Stuart Greenway, BIR director.

“Ninety per cent of our candidates have no digital or tech skills. The partnership with giffgaff is essential. Without a phone, they can’t write CVs, make applications, respond to emails or schedule interviews. It truly does open up a world of opportunities.”

Originally from Spain, Lopez has lived in London for 25 years. She loves the city – but life hasn’t always been easy. She spent years bouncing between squats, “moving and packing, moving and packing”.

“There are many layers to homelessness and unstable living,” she says. “You spend so much time of your life leaving things behind because there’s no space in the van. Or if you don’t have a van, you need to move with shopping trolleys. It is very exhausting, and you feel like you are starting from the beginning all the time.”

Bar work and traffic surveys kept her afloat while she pursued puppeteering in her spare time. But after Covid, that zero-hours employment dried up. Then the Job Centre referred her to Big Issue Recruit.

Lopez now meets with her coach to build confidence, polish her CV and identify suitable roles.

“Having a working phone is amazing,” she says. “Otherwise, you are relying on going to the library or things like that. It makes it so much easier to search for jobs or reply to emails. And having a phone where employers can call you is important.”

The device also eases the loneliness of living far from her family in Spain.

“It helps with socialising as well,” she says. “People come and go in a city like London. Sometimes when you make friends with someone and they leave, or they live on the other side of the city… it’s hard to meet or stay in touch.”

People without regular connectivity are more likely to experience loneliness, poorer mental health and lower earnings.

“Most of us don’t think twice about picking up a text message or checking the news and the weather,” says Greenway. “But actually, a vast proportion of society don’t know how to do that.”

If you can’t check a bus timetable, book an appointment or message a friend, you end up cut off in more ways than one.

Bridging that gap benefits everyone: research shows that when people are digitally included, they’re healthier, more employable and more active in their communities. Research from the Good Things Foundation shows investing £1.4 billion in digital upskilling could return £13.7bn to the UK economy – a £9.48 return for every £1.

Greenway believes access to skills support is crucial.

“If we didn’t have access to giffgaff phones, we could teach someone how to use one, but it just wouldn’t go in,” he explains.

“You need the phone in your hand to learn, develop and grow. This partnership is invaluable. It really does change lives.”

giffgaff’s People Director Jo North echoes this view. “Being connected shouldn’t be a luxury,” she says. “Having a working phone is the first step towards rebuilding confidence, accessing support and finding meaningful work. It’s inspiring to see how that digital lifeline can restore not just opportunity, but dignity too. The difference it makes for candidates, like Ainoa, reminds us that connection can be truly transformative.”

For now, Lopez is in temporary accommodation and dreams of finding her own place to rent. As for a career, her ambition is clear: she wants to work in the charity sector, and use her own experiences to help others. BIR is helping her apply for relevant roles.

“I want to make a positive impact,” she says. “I enjoy a lot working with people. It’s very satisfying. When you work with someone for a while… you see them grow, and things that are very difficult for them in the beginning, once they get used to you, they start changing and learning. Which I am also doing.”

With a phone in her hand and a team at her side, that dream feels closer every day.

Find out how giffgaff are up to good at giffgaff.com