What do you think is the primary cause of homelessness?

I think homelessness comes from a high-pressured, risk-laden society that is all about consumerism. There is an enormous amount of pressure today, especially upon young people to grow up now. Lots of people get caught up in drink and drugs, leading to social dislocation.

What first inspired you to create a publication sold and edited by homeless people?

There were a lot of homeless people on the streets of London and homelessness seemed to be getting worse. People were given food but no real support to get them off the streets.

Do you feel that since the foundation of The Big Issue there has been an improvement in the public perception of homelessness?

I think what we’ve made people realize that homelessness is what happens when everything else falls apart. But I still think the public need to understand that a lot of homelessness is down to deep-seated neglect and abuse in childhood.

How is The Big Issue different in its approach to aiding homeless people as opposed to other charities?

When it first started it was very different because there were 501 homeless organisations in London and none of them were about giving the homeless an opportunity to make their own money, rather than being given relief.

Do you feel that the success of The Big Issue could be replicated in other countries?

We’re in 50 different countries already, so we have tried to develop an international network. Across the world, though, the principle is always the same: to help the homeless help themselves.

How have your first-hand experiences of homelessness affected your view on society?

I think it’s made me more tolerant of people who fall. It’s made me understand that anybody can fall and that you have to support people from a position of having fallen before them. More than anything, it’s made me more ambitious to create more stepladders for them.

Do you think that homelessness is adequately addressed in the political domain?

I think there was a lot of effort by successive governments in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but I think the problem is that homelessness keeps reinventing itself. Today a lot of people are homeless because the safety net has holes in it.

What do governments need to do in order to aid homeless people in the UK?

I think one of the greatest things that could be done is to never talk about giving people their rights, but more about giving people responsibilities; rights have to go with responsibilities. Responsibility is the key to social mobility.

What do you think of the benefits system in the UK?

It is good that the benefits system is there to support people, but I think a small amount is given out and we don’t see a vast amount of opportunities for social mobility. I think social mobility can only occur when people are not treated like refugees, given no help with education and cultural and social change.

Do you think that our class system has an influence on attitudes to homelessness and reinsertion into society?

I think that the class system is the division of society into types and there is always a possibility of homelessness occuring as people move from type to another. In the last 25 years, a new group of people we call ‘the workless’ has developed, and they are not from a specific class but add greatly to homelessness overall.

How can people who become homeless overcome the burden of re-entering society?

80 per cent of homeless people come from the same social and economic backgrounds and remain collapsed members of society. I think we need to invest in preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place.

As students, how can we help the homeless most?

I think the greatest thing that students can do is trying to change the world we live in and our society by changing set attitudes and using higher education in a much more substantial way.

Do you feel The Big Issue has fully served its purpose in helping homeless people off the streets?

The Big Issue is always changing and has yet to reach its full potential. I want to give homeless people not just the chance of selling on the streets, but moving on to middle class work by developing local magazines run entirely by the homeless. Normally homeless people are given fairly menial jobs. I want to turn the social divide upside down.