Big Issue was launched to tackle the scourge of homelessness, so these Changemakers, working without fanfare to elevate life for those left on the margins, are definitely our kind of people.
Good Place Lettings
Good Place Lettings is helping to make private renting part of the solution to homelessness. Launched in London by Homes for Good – who’ve been supported by Big Issue Invest – and Crisis, the social enterprise works with landlords willing to offer secure, good-quality homes to people on low incomes and those who have experienced homelessness. Its model combines market-rate properties with homes rented as close to Local Housing Allowance levels as possible, backed by tenancy support to help residents sustain their home and rebuild stability. By proving renting can be fairer, Good Place Lettings is challenging what the sector can deliver.
Marc Davenant
Image: Marc Davenant
Davenant is a social documentary photographer working with marginalised communities to highlight inequality and injustice. His acclaimed project Outsiders, focused on homelessness and substandard housing, has been turned into a book and touring exhibition, attracting over 120,000 visitors since the tour began in October 2023. A two-time winner of the Portrait of Britain competition, Marc’s work (right) has been exhibited across the UK and internationally, including inside the Houses of Parliament. Through long-term, trusted storytelling, he helps ensure the realities of homelessness are seen, understood and harder to ignore.
Scarlett Chapman
At just 15, Chapman has already spent years supporting people affected by homelessness. She was eight when she began busking in Brighton to raise money for local charities; she has since raised more than £10,000. Hearing from families trapped in temporary accommodation helped her see the need for permanent, affordable homes. She launched Mission: HOME, a grassroots campaign working with Brighton and Hove to identify small council-owned “microsites” for new social housing. The first proposed site would create four permanent homes.
4BYSIX
Nominated by Charlotte Rose, artist
Turning waste into opportunity, 4BYSIX works with contemporary artists to create and sell bespoke artworks made entirely from reclaimed materials. The proceeds are used to fund community projects supporting people facing homelessness and severe hardship. As their nominator Charlotte Rose explained, the group gives artists “bus panels” and scrap materials to transform into work that is exhibited and sold, with profits reinvested into frontline support including shelters and soup kitchens. One of their projects is 4BYSIX Sounds, connecting homeless young people and young refugees with musicians to write, record and produce original tracks that tell their stories.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Fighting Homelessness
Fighting Homelessness. Image: Jazz
This CIC supports people experiencing homelessness through boxing and martial arts, using sport to rebuild confidence, routine and a sense of belonging. Operating across Wales, it runs introductory 10-week programmes in local gyms, helping participants learn the basics of boxing and disciplines such as jujitsu in a welcoming environment. The project (right) was created by homelessness case worker Robert Green, who piloted the idea in 2019 before launching in 2021. Rather than training people for competition, Fighting Homelessness focuses on wellbeing, community and “sustainable living”, helping people build healthier habits and new support networks.
Rhys Wynne-Jones
Finding safety and purpose through music, Wynne-Jones went from sleeping rough to becoming the ‘mystery nightchurch pianist’ after a video of him playing in a Cornish church went viral in early 2024. Known for months only by that nickname, Rhys has since used the spotlight to raise over £26,000 for homelessness, mental health and local charities. He has toured with a homelessness arts installation, released an EP written while homeless, and continues to use live performances to challenge stigma and show what recovery can look like.
Kerrie Portman
Kerrie Portman
An autistic care leaver and housing campaigner, Portman has used her lived experience of homelessness to push for stronger rights and protections for care-experienced young people. She has spoken publicly about being made homeless multiple times after leaving care, highlighting the gaps in support that can force young people into unsafe and unstable housing. Alongside her activism, she has campaigned with Just for Kids Law and Children’s Rights Alliance England and has been recognised for her political work. In July 2025, she was invited to speak in the House of Lords on care experience.
Greater Change
Greater Change is rethinking how people move out of homelessness by funding the small but “impossible” financial barriers that can block progress. Shaped through volunteering with homelessness charities in Oxford, its model is guided by people with lived experience and focuses on practical, personalised support. Greater Change enables donors to contribute directly to an individual’s specific goal as part of a longer-term plan. Through flexible cash grants, it backs autonomy and dignity, while challenging stigma around giving money to people experiencing homelessness. So far, over 1,800 people have been supported out of homelessness.
A vital lifeline for autistic adults, the Number 6 One-Stop Shop offers practical, time-limited one-to-one support to help people navigate everyday challenges and build strategies for specific difficulties. Crucially, it provides housing-focused guidance, supporting individuals with housing applications, including EdIndex, and offering advice on financial or wider issues that can help someone secure and sustain a tenancy. In a system that can feel overwhelming and inaccessible, Number 6 helps autistic people get the right support at the right time, and stay safe, stable and supported at home.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Shared Health Foundation
Shared Health Foundation
Shining a light on a hidden homelessness crisis, Shared Health Foundation supports children and families living in temporary accommodation while pushing for the systems change needed to keep them safe. The charity delivers health-focused frontline interventions including Focused Care and its support centre, The Crib, helping families navigate instability, unsafe conditions and the knock-on impact on children’s wellbeing. Shared Health was instrumental in convincing the government to pledge to notify GPs and teachers when a child falls into homelessness. As Chief Executive Dr Laura Neilson previously told Big Issue, this should be “a national conversation”.
The year was full of moments that reminded us why this work matters. One of the biggest highlights was winning Big Issue Changemakers of the Year, which felt like real affirmation for our team and volunteers. Our Cold Truth Sleep Out fundraiser was also a huge success, bringing people together around the reality of homelessness in our city. And Christmas Day was deeply special. We supported 133 guests and I was able to serve alongside my own family, which felt like a powerful picture of community, dignity and hope all in one place.
What did it mean to be named a Big Issue Changemaker?
Big Issue has always stood for people, dignity and practical change, so to be recognised by them felt very grounding and encouraging. It wasn’t just for me but for our whole volunteer family, our guests and our partners. It gave us confidence to keep going, especially in hard seasons, and helped shine a light on work that often happens quietly in the background.
What are your hopes for 2026?
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
In 2026 we want to build sustainability and reach. We hope to keep our [Citroën-donated] van long term, as it has become vital for collections, deliveries and supporting hostels, refugees and people in need across the city. We’re also excited about growing our Hope in Swansea app. Our aim is to support and franchise it to charities in other cities who share similar values. Alongside that, we want to keep strengthening and caring for our volunteer teams, making sure they feel supported as we continue serving those who need us most.
