Changgab’s face has a peaceful and relaxed look, which is perhaps surprising for someone who’s lived many years at sea, slept rough at Seoul Station and lived day-to-day in short-term accommodation. Life is good right now, he says. Changgab has been working as a Big Issue Korea vendor since September 2018 and met his wife in 2020. They now share their lives with their dog, Bo-ri, and live in a rented home.

Big Issue Korea vendor Kwak Changgab: “You can move forward when you earn some of your own money”

Forty years ago, the US federal government slashed affordable housing budgets marking the beginning of the contemporary crisis of homelessness. Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, writing from the perspective of having experienced homelessness at a young age, outlines the history of social disinvestment in the country since the 80s.

40 years of homelessness in America

The September paint attacks on homeless people horrified not only Stuttgart but the whole of Germany. In the first half of September several people sleeping on the streets were doused with paint as they slept, until a suspected perpetrator was caught on 20 September and the attacks ended for the time being. But does the horror on the streets also end there, and how do homeless people perceive the attacks?

Homeless people on the Stuttgart paint attacks

The notion that individuals experiencing homelessness are at fault for their own experience and are inherently bad people is a common thread in many cultures, one which crosses over political ideologies. INSP’s North America director Israel Bayer outlines some ways to reframe the conversation over a busy period for those without a place to call home.

Ways to engage your peers, friends and family on the homeless and housing conversation this holiday season

The International Network of Street Papers Global News Round Up is produced monthly by staff at INSP, summarizing key stories about homelessness, poverty, human rights and other topics on the radar of street papers.

International Network of Street Papers Global News Round Up (December 2022)

The latest column in INSP’s Housing for the People series comes from Vicky Batcher – a writer and vendor for Nashville street paper The Contributor – who has penned a retelling of the story of A Christmas Carol, showing how the holidays have changed for her as her life has changed too.

A Housing for the People Christmas Carol: A roof over my head for the holidays

Ulf Gustafsson, 65 years old, sells Faktum in the Partille Centrum outside Gothenburg. As the World Cup rolls on, he extolls about his passion for local team Gais – one of Sweden’s oldest football clubs which plays in the second tier of the country’s league system – and how his fandom of the team has intersected with his life.

“Like the team, I always make a comeback”: Faktum vendor Ulf lives and breathes for the Gothenburg football club Gais

Peter Andersen, current editor of Hus Forbi in Denmark, takes us through their plans to help vendors through a rough part of the year, with additional products to ensure a continued to sustainable income to assistance with managing the winter cold.

Q&A: How Danish street paper Hus Forbi supports vendors through the winter

As 2022 enters its final months, inflation and its very real effect on individuals is showing no sign of relenting. On the streets of Budapest, Hungary, the homeless community is encountering this issue in a unique way. The local street paper Fedél Nélkül is at the centre of it.

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