Adrian Cox, London
Adrian was in his mid-30s and living with parents, but moved out because he felt they needed their space. He sold his car with the intention of taking a trip to India, but soon his savings dwindled and he found himself living in a squat. When the local council evicted him, he couch surfed, and sometimes slept on the street before finally ending up in a crack house. “I hit an all time low and my confidence plummeted to rock bottom,” he says.
After six weeks he entered a hostel, and began selling the Big Issue. “It enabled me to keep my head above water and even apply for a job.” The Big Issue Foundation helped Adrian buy a suit for the interview. He didn’t get the job but it did give him confidence to carry on.
In the meantime one of his regular customers who had a Labrador asked if he would take some pictures of her and her dog which, of course, he was happy to do. He was pleased with the results and had the idea for a business taking Pet Portraits. He applied for a place on college course which The Big Issue Foundation helped fund.
The Big Issue went on to help connect Adrian with other organisations and one of Adrian’s big breaks came when he was asked to be an official photographer at this year’s Big Chill Festival. As Adrian says “ I can’t thank The Big Issue enough for helping me through some very dark days, but now I have a future and its looking very bright indeed”
For further information on how you can help vendors like Adrian please click here
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