Hundreds brave the cold at Stadium of Light for sleep out
in turning their lives around by gaining essential life skills, tackling physical and mental health issues and helping them to move into education or employment.
Participants were asked to give up their beds for just one night, but a survey from the vulnerable young people Centrepoint support shows 33% of homeless young people have spent the night in a park because they had nowhere else to stay and 17% have done so more than once.
Jess Sullivan, Centrepoint’s regional fundraising officer, said: “This has been our biggest Sleep Out in Sunderland yet, to have nearly three hundred people taking part and fundraise £29,000 is amazing.”
“We have seen an increase in demand for our services and events like Sleep Out have real impact in supporting the young homeless in the North East. “
“The night highlights some of the issues but it would be impossible for us to replicate the reality of spending a night on the streets with nowhere else to go – a reality for thousands of young people this Christmas.
“Just in the North East alone, 1,100 young people are or at risk of being homeless over the festive period.”
Centrepoint is the leading charity for homeless young people aged 16 to 25 and supports more than 200 homeless young people every day in the North East.
It also runs the freephone Centrepoint Helpline for any young person in this age bracket who is worried about homelessness.
The charity’s helpline is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and the number is 0808 800 0661.
Centrepoint’s work is about more than just providing a safe bed for the night; the charity helps people to turn their lives around by gaining life skills, tackling their physical and mental health issues and moving into education or employment.