It’s a well-known fact that many people will be sleeping rough tonight on London’s streets and as the winter season is now upon us, the long, cold nights really make us appreciate a cosy bed in a warm house.
But what if you’re not so lucky. What if life and circumstances mean that tonight or for the foreseeable future, you’d be sleeping outside in the cold and rain with nothing but the stars above you.
According to Crisis, there is no national figure for how many people are homeless across the UK partly due to homelessness being recorded differently in each area but also because many homeless people do not show up in official statistics at all. Imagine that – not being counted at all.
CHAIN’s 2015 Street to Home annual report shows that over 7,500 people slept rough at some point in London during 2014/15, a 16 per cent rise on the previous year.
To raise awareness of the issue of homelessness in London, Trinity Homeless Projects are holding their annual Big SleepOut at Hillingdon Athletics Stadium on Friday 4th December.
The Big SleepOut event gives people the opportunity to do their bit to end homelessness. For one night, 1,000 people will descend at the stadium to have fun, eat, watch live performers and hear some inspiring stories from those who have been there before bedding down for the night with nothing but a cardboard box for shelter.
As Safestore is committed to being a responsible business in how we contribute and work with our local communities, we have pledged to sponsor the boxes and packaging to be used by the participants in the campaign. As cardboard boxes represent sleeping rough in such an iconic way, the hope is that the boxes will go some way to helping the SleepOut participants experience what sleeping rough is really like – if only for one night.
We also believe it is important for our colleagues to recognise how our activities can have an impact on those around us and events like this can inspire and encourage us to challenge our own perspectives on homelessness.
Aycan, Store Manager at our Wood Green store will be taking part in the event alongside 1,000 others at the event which will highlight the fact that homelessness can happen to anyone.
Trinity Homeless believes that everyone has the right to housing and the money raised through participant sponsorship will go a long way to raising awareness and helping to end homelessness. Beating homelessness takes the whole community. After all, it could be any of us. #ItCouldBeMe.