STEPHANIE AND NICOLA WILL SLEEP ROUGH TO HELP CHARITY Let’s see how it really feels
Duo set £1,000 target
Two Paisley students are sleeping rough to raise money for a charity that helps homeless people get back on their feet.
Stephanie Miller, 24, and Nicole Docherty, 21, are giving up central heating, warm water and hot meals at home for a night in aid of CrossReach, the social care arm of the Church of Scotland.
They have set a target of £ 1,000 to support the Kirkhaven project in Dalmarnock area of Glasgow.
This f a c i l i t y p rov i d e s accommodation, support and social care for homeless men and women aged between 18 to 65 for between three months and a year.
The aim of staff is to provide a clean, safe and secure place to stay. It is meant as an alternative to rough sleeping and traditional homelessness and to help people get the skills to maintain their own accommodation.
Stephanie and Nicole, who are both second year social work students at the University of the West of Scotland in Paisley, are currently on a 10-week placement at the re- settlement project.
And they said they were struck by the fact that limitations in funding means that staff have to raise money themselves to send service users on short respite breaks to a cottage near Pitlochry.
The young women decided that one night of rough sleeping in the city centre on March 15 would enable them to raise money and raise awareness of homelessness at the same time.
Stephanie said she and her friend got to know people well at the 14room Kirkhaven facility over the last five weeks.
“The main thing they spoke to us about was this cottage in Pitlochry,” she added.
“In the past they’ve had the cost funded by a third party but due to budget limitations this isn’t available unless Kirkhaven provide their own funds.”
Nicole added: “Going to the cottage seemed to be a highlight in their lives so we wanted to help them to go back there.
“Kirkhaven’s JustGiving page states that a short break away is something that we all take for granted, but for the service users this can have a positive impact on their overall wellbeing.
“For us, it’s only one night, but for many it is the harsh reality of daily life.”
The pair are very much aware that spending a night on the streets is a risk but they insist that they are taking a range of sensible precautions including personal alarms and emergency phone batteries.
Both women have been particularly struck by the services available at Kirkhaven, which include advocacy work, harm reduction and addiction support.
Stephanie said: “Staff are there for clients 24/7.”
Kirkhaven manager Liz Leadbetter said: “We are delighted that our social work students at Kirkhaven are using their initiative and research to raise funds to enable our service users to sample some life experiences that a lot of us take for granted.
“Their generous act will raise funds to support activities such as overnight breaks away, outings to the coast encouraging and supporting lifestyle changes.”
To donate money to Stephanie and Nicole’s project, visit www. gofundme. com/ sleep- out- forkirkhaven