On Friday 20th November starting at 10.30pm Billie, her dog Solo and Tom will be walking 18 miles through London to raise money for the Big Issue Foundation.
"Bickley ( Billie) was on the streets four years before the Big Issue existed, escaping a violent home at 14 for London. "I got the first train from Coventry, got off at King's Cross and I've been here ever since," she says. Within her first week of living on the street, she was befriended by a homeless couple who sold heroin. "The first time I took it was 17 June 1987, my 15th birthday. I kept on taking it for 17 years."
Taken from The Guardian, 18th September 2009, written by Ros Wynne Jones
Since Billie started selling The Big Issue not only she has been able to kick her 17 year drug habit, she has been able to find a proper home with her partner and her partner's two children, and soon will be going to college to train to be a drugs worker.
The Big Issue Foundation is about taking control, moving forward, gaining independence and rebuilding lives. They exist to enable vendors to continue on their journey away from homelessness.
