Fundraisers to sleep on the street for Northampton charity
The annual Hope Charity Big SleepOut, Friday 7 February hopes to raise £20,000 for their work helping homeless people.
Last updated 1st Feb 2025
This time next week Northamptonshire fundraisers will be waking up, on the streets.
Friday 7 February sees the annual Hope Charity Big SleepOut, sleeping outside with just a sleeping bag and cardboard box, in the carpark at the Mercure Hotel in central Northampton for one night.
The annual event raises £20,000 for their work helping homeless people. They've been running for decades.
As well as being one of their biggest fundraisers the aim is to get people to experience what it's like to be a rough-sleeper on one of the coldest times of the year.
Kyra Williams is the head of fundraising and marketing at Northampton Hope Centre:
"People can actually, relate really to the experiences that a lot of, the people who face homelessness face every night. So it's it's just as much a show of solidarity as it is a fundraiser. And I think that's why it has such an impact."
People will be provided with food that would likely be available from food banks for the night, says Kyra:
People taking part will get kettle food like pot noodles, and sandwich.
Kyra says the experience sticks with people for life, of having to sleep out in the in the cold and see what the impact is on your ability to sleep and your, mental health and well-being.
The lack of sleep is a major issue for those taking part, but they're often getting a nicer experience than those who are actually homeless:
"You're not meant to have a shelter, for starters. People don't often sleep through fear of threats. You know they feel that they're going to get beaten up. They're going to get urinated on. There are obviously a lot of risks associated with rough sleeping.
After the sleep, I often say to us, you know, it's the lack of sleep and it's the cold and the fact that if you had to do this night after night after night, the impact on your ability to function during the day just to do your, you know, your usual task, make appointments, you know, it becomes impossible because you're just so exhausted and tired."
There's also an opportunity for those wanting to take part who can't make the Friday 7 February date or the Mercure hotel event to organise there own with help from the charity.
Find out more here.