Londoners decided to sleep rough this month in hopes to tackle the homeless crisis raising £45,000.
On Friday 6 October, more than 180 members of the public signed up to take part in Streets of London’s sixth annual Sleep-Out.
Streets of London (SOL) is a charity funding support and raising awareness for the homeless in the capitol.
SOL’s aim is to challenge stereotypes and therefore shift the perspective on who homeless people are.
Their goal is to educate and increase the public’s understanding of the homeless epidemic and what can be done about it.
The Sleep-Out took place outside St John’s Church in Waterloo and gained more than 1,600 donations.
Hospitality worker, Katy Bowden from West London has attended the Sleep-Out event for two years in a row and plans to carry on the tradition as a means of raising awareness and being a part of something important.
Bowden says: “I think the sleep-out is important as the number of people facing homelessness has risen massively and no one should have to go through that and live with the constant danger and health issues that go along with it.”
Since 2015, SOL has made grants of more than £750,000 to fund projects offering life changing support to those sleeping rough in London.
Projects including women’s sanctuaries, addiction recovery, migrant support, life skills and language for homeless youth and many more have all been given a £15,000 grant.
Bowden raised money through SOL’s Just Giving page, and speaks highly of the charity and their event stating it makes you think more about those less fortunate.
For more information: http://www.streetsoflondon.org.uk/about-us
Feature image by Alan Light on Flickr, licenced under CC BY 2.0 DEED
