Chippenham charity raises cash and awareness with Sleep Out event
Doorway raised £6,000 with its event at John Coles Park
A Wiltshire charity supporting homeless people has told us its recent Sleep Out event was a major success.
Chippenham-based Doorway held a night under the stars at John Coles Park earlier this month to give people a flavour of some of the challenges people sleeping rough face.
The event helped raise £6,000 for the organisation, but Events and Facilities Manager, Sarah McClymont it also brought something else just as valuable.
"We had people coming along to the park, asking what we were doing and who we are. Just raising that awareness of doorway is equally as important as raising money," she told Greatest Hits Radio.
Sarah added that the event was a successful one, which came with the added bonus of being dry: "This one was unprecedented because it was a dry one, we never have dry sleep outs!"
The injection of cash is crucial to the organisation, with Sarah telling us it simply allows them to be there for those who need them most.
She said: "It allows us to continue doing what we're doing to run our drop in sessions. We're here Monday to Friday now as we've increased our drop in session.
"It allows us to stay open really."
The event saw people sleeping on cardboard as they got a taste of what life without a home can be like.
Sarah told us: "Being able to sort of spend that night out, experiencing the drop in temperature, the fact that they've got to carry all their stuff with them and that they are sleeping on cardboard is eye opening.
"It makes a great memory and a great event, so it definitely raises awareness of what some of the hardships could be for somebody who's sleeping rough."