150 sleep out to help homeless youngsters
MORE than 150 people will sleep out in Manchester’s Victoria Baths to help young people affected by homelessness.
The Centrepoint annual Sleep Out event will take place today at 7pm until tomorrow morning.
It is expected to raise more than £50,000 for youngsters who have found themselves without a home.
Participants will spend the night in the unheated, iconic building to gain a better understanding of the challenge some young homeless people face.
Centrepoint do stress that while Sleep Out doesn’t aim to replicate the reality of homelessness, it will help to bring the plight of the situation to the forefront with participants experiencing sleeping on the floor, facing the bitterly cold weather and getting through the day with next to no sleep.
Ben Bowden, regional fundraising manager at Centrepoint, said: “Our Sleep Out event is a fun experience, but it has a serious side to it.
“Homelessness in Manchester is on the increase and it is vital that we continue to raise awareness and funds to try and break the cycle.
“Sleep Out is a chance for you to say that youth homelessness is not acceptable and help Centrepoint provide futures for young people who find themselves in terrible circumstances.”
The event at Victoria Baths will be hosted by former The Bill and Hollyoaks actress Lisa Maxwell.
The long-standing Centrepoint ambassador said: “Homelessness in Manchester is such a pressing concern for us all and it is especially worrying when you hear, and see, the scale of the issue in the city. It’s brilliant that we have an event like Sleep Out, to not only highlight the issue, but to also raise money to help prevent youth homelessness and to continue supporting those who are affected.”
DJ Brandon Block will also be attending.
Centrepoint is a national youth homelessness charity and operates a drop-in service in Manchester’s Northern Quarter for any young person who is homeless or at risk and needs support.
It also runs a national helpline for any young person who is worried about homelessness. support is available over the phone: 0808 800 0661 and online via a chat service: https://centrepoint. org.uk/helpline
Earlier this month, investigative journalist and Strictly Come Dancing star Stacey Dooley headed a documentary on young homelessness in which she visited Manchester.
Stacey Dooley: The Young and Homeless revealed that more than 100,000 16 to 24-year-olds presented themselves as homeless across the country last year based on Centrepoint research. At the time of filming, more than 1,300 people in Manchester said they were homeless in the last year with only 266 of those were counted in official homelessness figures.