Augustin - Homeless magazin - English Grammar

In 1995 no one had a clue how Augustin would develop, if at all. The magazine was started by ⁽¹⁾a few
You use 'a few' with plural countable nouns and 'a little' with uncountable nouns like 'time', 'food' and 'money'. Don't confuse yourself by thinking you can count your money... you cannot say 'one money, two moneys' and that is what matters. a few⁽¹⁾ journalists and social workers and had only six sellers. The homeless people in Vienna didn't want anything to do with it, because they thought it was a government initiative. In October 2005, 450 registered sellers were selling the anniversary issue. By then the magazine was bi-weekly rather than monthly and 56 pages long instead of 24. The average number of copies sold was 70.000 a month. At the end of 2006, this number had grown to 80.000.

According to legend, Augustin was Vienna's first known homeless person. He was an alcoholic and got ⁽²⁾so drunk that
In English, you do not write a comma before 'that', unlike in German where you often see the construction '..., dass'so drunk that⁽²⁾ he even survived the plague. Augustin-the-magazine was Vienna's first homeless magazine. It has survived thirteen years on the streets and has grown only bigger and more successful in that time. At times, some may see it as a plague, for example when it calls for free public transport for homeless people or a base salary for all people. Augustin knows what it wants and is not afraid to voice its opinions. It takes a pluralistic approach, but is very clear about the social roots of its activism.

Whereas objectivity is not a goal, representing the facts is. Angela Traussnig, Augustin's publicity officer, says one of the magazine's triumphs is its ⁽³⁾independence
Note: 'independence' is spelled without an 'a'independence⁽³⁾: “We don't receive subsidies from the government, the city or the church.” This independence has survived all these years. Augustin is kept alive by the selling of copies and by private donations. It does not have to abide by anyone's rules but its own. These rules are simple: to show what life is like for homeless individuals, to break down the barrier between those who read the magazine and those who sell it, and to give the sellers a way of improving their lives.

Augustin sellers are homeless or vulnerably housed. After having been given fifteen copies to sell, they can choose to use the proceeds to buy more copies to sell. From that point on, fifty percent is for them and fifty percent is for the magazine. The goal is not necessarily to integrate the sellers ⁽⁴⁾into
You use 'into' when something enters something else (He drove the car into the garage.) or when something changes form (He changed into a green monster.)into⁽⁴⁾ mainstream society. After all, most of them have dropped out of their previous commitments because they couldn't manage for one reason or another. However, by selling Augustin, they can make an honest living. For many sellers this means that they can move into a hostel and become less dependent on the pressures of the streets. Augustin also gives them opportunities to develop their skills. Writing for the magazine is only one of these skills.

“For many, Augustin is also a home and a safety net,” says Traussnig. “Many have been with the magazine from the start, are now living in their own homes and have got a grip on their lives again. They are mostly involved with the projects, rather than the selling.” A perfect example of this is Stimmgewitter, the tramp choir. It was founded in 2000. At the time, most of the singers lived on the streets or in homeless shelters. Nowadays, none of the singers are homeless. They are, however, still singing.

Sommer has several plans for the future. “At the moment there is talk of a free, low-threshold ⁽⁵⁾' citizens'
The possessive form usually consists of -'s- at the end of a word (The car belongs to Mark, it is Mark's car.) but when the word already ends with an -s-, you can choose to just add the apostrophe (The car belongs to Chris, it is Chris' car.) or to add the apostrophe and an -s- (It is Chris's car).citizens'⁽⁵⁾ advice bureau for poor people. And in ten years time, there will be a socio-cultural Augustin centre in the city centre for the ‘unwanted’, the Augustin sellers and for all who feel solidarity with them.” A longer version of this article appeared in Ether Magazine on 03/02/2007 www.ethermagazine.at