My 30th birthday on the Hamilton streets
Sammy sleeps rough to raise money for charity
A Hamilton woman who slept rough in Glasgow at the weekend to raise money for charity said it was one of the toughest experiences of her life.
Sammy Brown decided that as part of her 30th birthday celebration she would live on the streets for two nights.
And – along with her friends Daniel Bath and Sharon Moir – she took to the streets on Friday at 9am to experience a weekend of sleeping rough.
Sammy said: “It was insane. We truly felt what it was like for a homeless person living on the streets.
“It was one of the best experiences but also one of the toughest.
“We had to take cardboard from around the bins so we had something to sleep on instead of the cold ground.
“The minute you sit down with a bit of cardboard you become invisible to people. Some people had a look of shame on their face as they walked past.”
Sammy said between the three of them they managed to raise £250 from on the street donations and raised £2000 in total when online contributions were added.
She said: “As a children’s pastor it is a goal for me to teach the children of this generation to treat everyone with kindness. That includes people who live a different lifestyle from the way we do. Kindness is the key.”
The money raised from the weekend will go to addiction recovery charity Teen Challenge North East Scotland’s Buy Benaiah campaign.
The organisation launched the fundraising initiative two years ago to raise £535,000 to buy a women’s residential centre at Benaiah, in the north-east of Scotland.
The facility – which uniquely allows mothers to continue living with their children while they complete the faith-based recovery programme, Teen Challenge – is currently rented by the charity.
Sammy added: “Some people did stop and asked a bit about Benaiah and some people put money into our cup.”
You can watch Sammy’s video diary of the sleep out on the Hamilton Advertiser’s Facebook page.