Local Life - St Helens - April 2019

16
Stadium Sleep
The Saints Community Sleep Out in March was a
roaring success.
Currently, there are at least 320,000 homeless
people living in Britain. Whether you’re kipping on
someone else’s couch in lieu of a bed of your own
or spending your nights on the streets, not having a
fixed address can be a frightening time for anyone.
In addition to dealing with our country’s
unpredictable weather patterns, struggling to
afford food and tackling job applications with
no permanent address, UK-based charity Crisis
reports that more than 1 in 3 homeless people have
experienced some sort of violence whilst homeless.
Almost half of those living on the streets have at
least been threatened with violence while sleeping
rough, and almost 6 in 10 had been verbally abused.
The Saints Community Sleep Out wanted to
challenge the views we have of homelessness,
while raising money and awareness for several local
charities in the process. On Friday, March 15, 64
St. Helens residents headed for the Totally Wicked
Stadium for a night under the stars – and in the
midst of Storm Gareth.
Armed with survival packs containing foil blankets,
a snack and a drink, sleepers headed out into
the ground and hastily constructed their own
Nick Dyer from Teardrops at the Sleep Out
cardboard shelters to experience what life is like for
some 320,000 people nationwide every night.
Representatives from Saints’ chosen charities – St.
Helens YMCA, the Saints Community Development
Foundation and Teardrops Supporting the
Homeless – were in attendance, including Teardrops
leader Nick Dyer.
‘Once the lights were switched off and the
temperature started to drop, everyone got into
their sleeping bags and makeshift shelters to settle
down for the night,’ Nick said. ‘I think everyone
struggled to sleep not only because of the incessant
snoring around them but more from the cold,
uncomfortable places they’d squirreled themselves
into.’
Nick continued: ‘This was an excellent opportunity
to raise awareness of a tiny part of what a homeless
person on the streets faces.’
The funds raised during the evening will be split
between the three charities involved, and help
to keep the Teardrops hub stocked with food and
support for the local homeless community.