Sleeping it rough - Dan's review
On Friday 24th October, the Whitechapel Centre hosted their first ever Liverpool sleep out event at St Nicholas Church, which I took part in. I've always been a keen volunteer and supporter of charities/initiatives such as mental health and wellbeing.
The Whitechapel Centre is the leading housing charity in the Liverpool area. They work tirelessly with people who are sleeping rough, living in hostels or struggling to manage their accommodation. They are committed to helping people find and maintain a home and learn the life skills essential for independent living.
The Whitechapel Centre do an amazing job supporting homeless people in Liverpool and as soon as I heard about this I couldn't wait to get involved. As I also have a passion for community and my role as Vice President Community Engagement, as well as the centre being one of LJMU’s four corporate charities, I thought this would be a great event to be part of.
I signed up and took part in the sleep out having no idea what to expect and who I'd meet when I turned up on the evening with my pillow, duvet and parka coat. I collected my cardboard and plastic sheeting and set about finding myself a dry spot in the church grounds and making my bed. Some groups of people really got into the spirit of things, going all out and making big impressive shelters.
As the evening went on I met other people who'd come to take part alone and we got talking about why we were there and what it meant to us. As the night went on, the weather got colder and colder, and we were joined by some furry little creatures. Luckily for us all though, the rain stayed away, and I even managed 35 minutes sleep before being woken up by the wind!
To say it was a challenge would be a massive understatement, it was without doubt one of the single most challenging situations I've ever faced, but equally one of the most rewarding. Fortunately throughout the twelve hours of the sleep out, I had access to toilet facilities and coffee too, however this isn't the case for those actually on the streets of Liverpool. I feel from the sleep out, I got a small insight into the reality of being homeless, and I can now begin to realise how important the money raised is to supporting homeless people in Liverpool.
When asked how the event went, Ruth McCaughley, Fundraising Manager at the Whitechapel Centre said, "We were overwhelmed by the number of people who signed up to our first sleep out. We organised the event to raise awareness of homelessness and to fundraise for the charity. We have achieved both. Over £16,000 sponsorship was pledged on the evening which will help us to reach more people who are experiencing homelessness in Liverpool. We hope participants have a better idea of just how hard it is to live on the streets."
So far I've had great support and encouragement. The suggested fundraising total to aim for was £150 however I decided to aim for at least £500. Through people's kind donations I've been able to raise £635 to date, to which I'm extremely grateful, and really pleased to have been able to contribute this much towards the total raised by the event.
If you are interested in volunteering with LiverpoolSU or other organisations similar to the Whitechapel Centre please click here.
