Good morning. Isabella McRae here. Welcome back. 

We spend a lot of time at the Big Issue speaking to families in heartbreaking situations, facing poverty and struggling to cope as services meant to support the most vulnerable are crumbling.

But there are some stories which are particularly gut-wrenching. My colleague, reporter Lottie Elton, wrote about an 11-year-old boy who was refused his father’s ashes by the council because his family were too poor to arrange a funeral. 

Situations like this should incite anger. It is a terrible state of things that this little boy had to go through this, after he had just lost his dad.

Read about it in this newsletter. We also meet the Big Issue vendor who is donating all his earnings this week to armed forces charities ahead of Remembrance Day – a pretty incredible feat. Find out how you can support him by reading on… 

If you have a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

Sam’s story: ‘How much can one little boy take?’

Sam was just 11 when his father Daniel died from brain cancer. His mother had already died of cancer years before, and Sam wanted to scatter his father’s ashes on her grave.

But Daniel died in poverty, with very few assets or relations. In cases like this – when no one is planning a service, or when family can’t afford the costs – councils have a statutory duty to carry out a funeral. 

When Matthew, a family friend, tried to arrange a funeral for Daniel on Sam’s behalf, he encountered stiff resistance. The council told Matthew they could cremate Daniel – but they wouldn’t be able to give the ashes back. 

“I had to tell Sam. I think he was numb,” Matthew told Big Issue. “How much can one little boy take?”

The refusal went against government guidance for England and Wales. But such bureaucratic brick walls are all too common for bereaved families.

Read the story here.

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Children in temporary housing want a home – not an Xbox – for Christmas, MPs told. Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner is due to chair a Labour taskforce on homelessness this week as MPs hear horrors of temporary accommodation crisis. Get the story.

DWP benefit reforms to get people into work are 'smokescreen for cuts', disability activist says. Campaigner Ellen Clifford says the work capability assessment proposals are motivated purely by cutting spending. Find out more.

Ending post-Grenfell cladding crisis could take until 2035 and beyond: 'Unacceptably slow'. Removing dangerous cladding is projected to take until 2035 – 18 years after  Grenfell fire – and could take even longer. Read more.

Disabled people losing jobs and 'falling out of work' due to months-long waits for DWP support. The government is on a mission to ensure that more disabled people are in work, but the Access to Work scheme is already 'overstretched'. Here’s the story.

Cash-strapped council warns it's at breaking point as neighbour places homeless people in its town. Vulnerable homeless people from Brighton & Hove are being housed in nearby Eastbourne, pushing council budgets to the brink of bankruptcy. Read about it.

Homeless families occupy council housing offices on Halloween in plea to fix 'houses of horror'. More than 100 activists from Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth spent all morning on Halloween occupying Lewisham Council housing offices. Find out more.

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This Big Issue vendor is donating his earnings to charity for Remembrance Day: 'Please buy a magazine'

A veteran from Bristol is donating all earnings from his Big Issue sales this week to armed forces charities ahead of Remembrance Day.

James Brewer, who sells the Big Issue outside Temple Meads Station, is donating the money to the SSAFA and the RAF Benevolent Fund in memory of his brother, a fellow former serviceman who passed away five years ago.

Brewer’s brother passed away after “his mental health gave way” – an experience all too common for veterans leaving the army. Since leaving himself, Brewer has mostly lived in tents and on the streets, selling the Big Issue to raise income and relying on charities like the SSAFA for “boots, sleeping bags and tents”.

The Big Issue has donated the first 50 magazines free to James to sell. The support team in Bristol will be working with James all week to support his fundraising efforts. Read the story here.

This Christmas, you can make a lasting change on a vendor's life. Buy a magazine from your local vendor in the street every week, if you can’t reach them, buy a Big Issue Vendor Support Kit.