Many of the Big Issue vendors come from a range of different backgrounds. Some suffer from mental or physical disabilities. Others may be recovering from addictions or social isolation. Gary suffered from long-term unemployment.
Gary worked for 34 years at the Australian Taxation Office. “I was offered a redundancy package when they were implementing technology. With that I purchased a property in 1997.”
More work was hard to come by, however, and while Gary was still unemployed, he was introduced to a US-based company which promised to “virtually double your money in a month”.
“I looked at the company and I thought, ‘Well maybe this is a quick means to getting extra assets because, if I was going to multiply my money in one month, this would help me’. After a year, people really started getting worried. It was found out that this company was actually not going to pay out funds at all. It was a fraud.
“I didn’t really have any funds available to go in on a class action because I had mortgaged my place in order to invest. I had to sell my property to pay back loans because I was not on any income to pay off the loan. I didn’t end up with much at all out of the situation.
“Because of this financial loss I think it’s made me feel that, even at my age, I still want to re-establish my financial situation. The Big Issue is a good start for me to get an income and is fairly permanent. I’m really quite confident out there with it. I make it a point of trying to interact with people even without them even purchasing.
“I’m proud to be doing what I’m doing regardless of the people purchasing or not. To me that’s why I think the Big Issue is great.”
You can find Gary selling most days on the corner Market and Kent streets. He may appear quiet and reserved but he is always up for a chat.
