'I had no other options' - Northampton homeless charity users and supporters back huge fundraising event

The Hope Centre will be holding its annual Big Sleep Out event on Friday, February 7, aiming to raise awareness and vital funds for those facing homelessness and hardship across Northamptonshire. Participants will experience a glimpse of what it’s like to sleep rough during one of the coldest months of the year.

The charity has said the funding raised by the event is “absolutely critical” in allowing the shelter to run, offer outreach services into the community and provide targeted support for the most vulnerable. The sleep out, which has been running for more than a decade, has raised more than £20,000 each year, according to the Hope Centre.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), one man shared his story on how he ended up falling on hard times and turning to the Hope Centre for support.

The 50-year-old, who asked not to be named, said he ended up sofa-surfing with friends for a year, after his marriage broke down and he was not able to work for health reasons. At the start of the new year, he began staying at the Hope Centre’s winter night shelter.

He said the thought of where he’d be right now without the support of the charity “terrifies” him.

He added: “The average Joe Bloggs walking by someone in a doorway has already made that presumption that they’re either into drugs or alcohol or they’ve been in prison – essentially they’re doing something that isn’t socially acceptable. But there are people, a bit like me, who have just genuinely fallen on difficult times and have lost direction in knowing who to turn to.

“I’ve never had to ask for any help, never had to go for Universal Credit. When I gave up my last job I had 2,000 employees across the country. But I had no other options, there was nowhere else for me to go. Then somebody told me about the Hope Centre.

“Being here, it’s kept me off the street – I’ve got a warm place, I’ve got a bed, but the biggest thing is you have got a support team here. This place wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for people going the extra mile. If you’re willing to accept the help they’ll do whatever they can in their power to help you.”

The Sleep Out’s theme this year is ‘Cold and Unseen’, raising awareness about the mental health challenges that come with homelessness and understanding that being homeless, which could include sofa-surfing, living in a hostel or rough-sleeping, is temporary.

Kyra Williams, from the Hope Centre, said: “A lot of people see street homeless as being a permanent situation and if you see that then people are less willing to help because they think ‘well they’re always here, it’s their choice’. It’s not like that at all.

“We have a lot of people who find themselves homeless and need support until we can find them the accommodation they need. The fundraising is absolutely critical. Without public donations and without funding from local communities we just don’t have enough money.

“The sleep out is so significant because it’s a sign of solidarity as well – there’s empathy and compassion built into it. Without the sleep out we wouldn’t be able to support the numbers of people here today.”

Another man who spoke to the LDRS , and asked not to be named, has been using the night shelter at the Hope Centre after vacating his caravan at Billing Aquadrome.

He said: “We have to get off one month every year. This time last year I had the funds to go on holiday, but I got caught out this time. We’ve been flooded out so many times this year all my savings have gone so I had to rely on the services here.

“The night shelter is basic, but it’s a bed, and it’s a roof over your head, and it’s warm and dry, which in the winter is a lot. [The Big Sleep Out] is very important as long as those people remember they’re only doing it for one night – some of these people have been doing it for years.”

The event will take place in the carpark of the Mercure Hotel, in Northampton. People taking part will challenge themselves to sleep out for 12 hours with just a sleeping bag and a cardboard or plastic shelter.

Leader of West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), Councillor Adam Brown, will be taking part in the event this year. He said that there has been an “alarming” rise in homelessness over the last year, both in Northamptonshire and nationally, due to changes in the private rented sector and an increase of section 21 evictions.

Cllr Brown told the LDRS : “It’s an absolutely fantastic charity with an amazing philosophy about not just giving people a meal or making them comfortable on the streets, but also providing complete turnarounds in people’s lives.

“I’m conscious of the fact that despite going out and being very cold for the night it will still be nowhere near the reality of the people who are doing that with no choice whatsoever. But, I think it’s good to grasp those opportunities when they come along and get even a small insight.”