Advertisement
News

Ron’s Story

Ron tells us how his life has turned around in the last year

Today is a special day for Ron.  He has been working, one day a week, as the corporate vendor for Northern Trust (please link to www.northerntrust.com) a bank in Canary Wharf. Today his placement, which had been extended from the usual six months to thirteen, finally comes to an end.

Ron’s usual pitch is in Covent Garden, and he has been selling there for two years now.  He tells me it wasn’t easy, he got some hassle when he first started, but he treated everyone as potential customers and was structured with his working time and regardless. It’s this approach that meant that he slowly but surely built up a significant and loyal base of regular customers.

Ron left school at 16 and started his working life in a factory making fish boxes in Grimsby. Quickly deciding that wasn’t for him he joined the Royal Artillery. He was posted to Singapore at the age of 17 having never left the country before and he loved it. 23 years later he left the forces and worked successfully as a driving instructor, but when his sight deteriorated and he lost his income, his life started to take a different course.

Ron says “The public just don’t realise how important The Big Issue is to sellers. It is truly life-saving. I had 30p in my pocket on the day that I found out about it. I went straight to the office and got badged up. Over time selling The Big Issue has given me a dependable income which enables me to get by, and to budget with the money I have.”

Ron was selected for a corporate placement because of his reliability and friendly nature, and he was the perfect candidate for the role. At the launch presentation a Northern Trust employee asked Ron why he wasn’t claiming his pension, and he politely responded “I don’t take anything. I’m the old type who believes you shouldn’t. As long as I can work I will.” But over the course of the placement Ron’s confidence has increased and he began to take the steps he could to claim things he was entitled to.

Advertisement
Advertisement

At the start of this placement Ron was in a very different place. He was living with a friend in a car, he wasn’t claiming his pension, and he struggled to make ends meet.  Thanks to the supportive environment at Northern Trust, and guidance from Connexions, Ron has now received a backdated claim for his pension, obtains housing benefit, has a small flat with everything he needs and even has some savings thanks to his increase in sales.

Ron greatly appreciates the support he has had from everyone at Northern Trust and says “I was nervous on the first day, I didn’t quite know what to expect, but it has surprised me how successful this has been. I know I’ll get up next Thursday and put a tie on!”

Ron will continue to sell the magazine in Covent Garden, but is excited about looking for other work opportunities, at The Big Issue or elsewhere, as he now has the confidence to pursue them.

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
'Dismay' for disabled and vulnerable households as average annual energy bills to rise to £1,738
Blue flames from a gas hob
Energy bills

'Dismay' for disabled and vulnerable households as average annual energy bills to rise to £1,738

Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'
Malala Yousafzai
Activism

Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why 'storytelling is the soul of activism'

Mum-of-three hit with 'revenge eviction' after asking for repairs: 'It felt like the end of the world'
Hazell and her three kids faced homelessness until Shelter stepped in
Renting

Mum-of-three hit with 'revenge eviction' after asking for repairs: 'It felt like the end of the world'

Winter fuel benefit cuts will send pensioners to hospital, DWP warned: 'It's a political choice'
a view from above of an older person with white hair eating out of a pot
Winter fuel payment

Winter fuel benefit cuts will send pensioners to hospital, DWP warned: 'It's a political choice'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue