Journalist and lone mum-of-two Karen Chung moved from London to edit the Scottish edition of The Pavement, which she produces on a shoestring from her flat in Glasgow’s West End. The magazine aims to provide homeless readers with news about issues affecting them – from council decisions to where to find the best soup kitchens.
The current September issue features a report on the row at Edinburgh City Council which has seen a leading housing official investigated after he commented in an email that one homeless client should be sent to Belarus where the authorities might use “Mr Kalashnikov” to deal with him.
The magazine also includes a comic-strip in which two Edinburgh homeless men are secret superheroes – Street Shield and Golden Blanket. Other cartoons are provided gratis by artists who normally work for leading satirical magazine Private Eye. Meanwhile, a directory section at the back provides dozens of listings of services which homeless people can turn to for help with issues such as housing, food, employment and mental health.
Two thousand copies a month are currently distributed throughout Edinburgh and Glasgow to more than 100 locations where they are given away free – including hostels, shelters and shops some of which are run by the housing charity Shelter.
The operation – which Chung describes as “lo-fi” – is made possible partly thanks to the involvement of eco-courier firm Fast Forward, which was set up by Edinburgh man James Tait, who had himself been homeless.
The Pavement Scotland is an offshoot of a London publication set up by a day centre employee who felt homeless people were being shut out of the decisions that mattered to them. Founder editor Richard Burdett said: “There were a lot of things going on that were talked about behind closed doors. It was a case of ‘if you are homeless we will tell you one thing, but behind your back something different is being said’.”
Chung said there was a clear need for something similar in Scotland, adding: “The government’s policy is that by 2012 no-one will be homeless but the figures are rising. So many people don’t want hostels in their areas and there is the perception that anyone who is homeless is a drunk or an addict. But there are as many reasons for people to become homeless as there are people.
“The Pavement is for homeless people themselves and it is engaging and friendly. You can roll it up and carry it around.”
The pocket-sized glossy magazine plans to extend beyond Glasgow and Edinburgh, but Chung and her staff, although trained professionals, are all volunteers. London and Scottish editions are already supported by a number of big-name firms including Pret A Manger, Stagecoach and Whyte and Mackay but the magazine is about to launch a drive for sponsorship.
The London version is on its 44th issue since Burdett launched it five years ago. It currently costs £45,000 a year to produce.
“The writers are mainly volunteer journalists who work for something like ‘Share Investor Monthly’ but want to write about things that matter. But we don’t get a lot of statutory support – in London we promote free food and soup runs which are politically not in vogue with a lot of councils and boroughs,” he said.
Robert Aldridge, spokesman for the Scottish Council for the Single Homeless, said: “Provided the information and advice contained within it is of high quality, it could be very useful in helping homeless people to navigate their way through what can be quite a complicated system.”
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