Hundreds get taste of life on streets
£10,000 pledged for Trinity charity
AROUND 1,000 people got a taste of life on the streets when they spent Friday night at Hillingdon Athletics Stadium. They helped raise £100,000 for the homeless, and were entertained on the night by an East Enders star.
EASTENDERS star Shane Richie helped lift the spirits of hundreds of people who slept rough in Hillingdon on Friday.
Big-hearted fundraisers bedded down for the night at Hillingdon Athletics Stadium as part of a mass sponsored sleep-out to raise money for homeless people in Hillingdon and Slough.
As of Monday more than £100,000 had been pledged to the cause, the homelessness charity Trinity said.
Shane said: “I was homeless myself back in the 90s, so I know how hard it is to not have a place to live.”
The actor, who works closely with event sponsor, British Airways, helped ensure spirits were kept high on the night and entertained along with musicians, poets and performers.
Homelessness can happen to anyone – 44% of homelessness is because of relationship breakdown, a further 29% is because short term tenancies end.
Hundreds chose to take part in The Big SleepOut to support Trinity in response to its #ItCouldBeMe photo campaign, which encouraged people to understand that no-one is immune to becoming homeless.
Find out more at www. wearetrinity.org.uk.