How does it work, exactly?

Self-Support Business for the Homeless

There are currently more than 100 vendors in Sendai , Aomori , Tokyo , Kyoto , Osaka , and Kobe . One vendor sells around 25 copies daily, on average. Anyone can become a vendor, if the person is homeless and agrees to respect the Code of Conduct for the vendors.

Firstly, a homeless person who signs a code of conduct and undergoes a training program receives vendor ID card which he/she has to wear when selling the magazine. The new vendor also receives 10 copies of the magazine which they can sell for 200 yen per copy, thus earning 2000 yen. With this initial capital, the vendors is able to buy more copies from us at 90 yen per copy (less than half the sale price). From then on, they will continue to sell the magazine for 200 yen per copy, keeping the difference of 110 yen for themselves.

The initial objective is for each vendor to sell around 50 copies each per day, giving them a daily income of 5,500 yen. If they sell 500 copies in a month, they can generate an income of up to 50,000 yen per month, with which they will be able to cover the costs of basic accommodation (1,200/day - 36,000/month).

The Three Steps toward Self-Sustainability

Each and every single homeless person has his/her own pathway for self-support. We consider self-support as a sense of ‘pride' that the individual is able to sustain a living on his/her own. The following is our model of the three steps toward self-sustainability:

Step 1) Depart from homelessness by staying in hostels, or temporary lodging centers (approximately 1,000 yen per night), which is possible by selling 25-30 copies daily.

Step 2) Rent an apartment and have an address (by selling 35-40 copies daily, biweekly publication, saving 1,000 yen daily and in 7-8 months, will have enough savings for ‘key money' to rent an apartment) .

Step 3) By having his/her own address, the individual will be able to seek permanent employment.

Many of our vendors have reached their second step and some, we are proud to say, have found jobs by achieving Step 3.