Sleeping rough

ONE IN 47 CHILDREN in Manchester is now homeless making the city the thirds worst outside of London. *

It’s a crisis which is getting worse in Britain with 320,000 people being homeless last year according to national homeless charity, Shelter. The charity has recently revealed that this year, at least 135,000 children will be homeless and living in temporary accommodation across Britain on Christmas day – the highest number for 12 years.

It is a crisis that Phillipa Joynson, Regional Health desk Co-ordinator cares passionately about. On Thursday 28 November 2019, Phillipa joined 80 other people in Greater Manchester to do a sponsored ‘sleep out’ for Centre Point – a charity who helps young people who are homeless. Phillipa shares her experience below.

“You never really fully prepare yourself for what it is going to be like. I went armed with layers of clothing; thermals, four layers on top and two pair of pants and socks and it wasn’t enough – the cold was unbearable.

“We started the night off walking the streets of Manchester until 10pm. I didn’t do my sleep out with my friends or family which magnified how isolating sleeping rough could be. “After we had walked the streets we headed back to the Old Victoria Baths for some shelter and we set up our sleeping bags on the hard, cold tiled floor.

“Even though we had shelter we weren’t prepared for the night we had ahead. The temperature was brutal. We had a big thermometer above our heads so we could see just how cold it was, it started at three degrees which dropped through the night to minus one degree. We weren’t allowed food or drink only the bits that the charity gave us.

“The thing I struggled with the most and I didn’t think about beforehand was the impact of sleeping on a cold hard floor with just a sleeping bag would have on my body. My back went into spasm as we had no pillow and my muscles were frozen solid - it was agony. It gave me massive insight into what homeless people experience; I was freezing, hungry, thirsty, tired, in pain, uncomfortable and I started to feel really dirty sleeping on the floor. I kept thinking about all of the people who this is a reality for.

“The next day I was free to go at 6am and I was so grateful somebody was picking me up in a heated car and taking me to my warm home and my comfortable bed. I could just about bear the conditions with a shelter but not many homeless people get that. If you added getting wet to the mix, I wouldn’t have been able to cope, yet there are people out there that do this day in and day out - it can be fatal.”

Phillipa was one of the highest achieving fundraisers raising £1140 for her sleep out event, with everybody involved that night raising £65,000. This will go towards providing safe, warm shelter, education, counselling sessions and much more for people as young as fourteen who are homeless. Well done Phillipa!

Sleeping rough

ONE IN 47 CHILDREN in Manchester is now homeless making the city the thirds worst outside of London.*

It’s a crisis which is getting worse in Britain with 320,000 people being homeless last year according to national homeless charity, Shelter. The charity has recently revealed that this year, at least 135,000 children will be homeless and living in temporary accommodation across Britain on Christmas day – the highest number for 12 years.

It is a crisis that Phillipa Joynson, Regional Health desk Co-ordinator cares passionately about. On Thursday 28 November 2019, Phillipa joined 80 other people in Greater Manchester to do a sponsored ‘sleep out’ for Centre Point – a charity who helps young people who are homeless. Phillipa shares her experience below.

“You never really fully prepare yourself for what it is going to be like. I went armed with layers of clothing; thermals, four layers on top and two pair of pants and socks and it wasn’t enough – the cold was unbearable.

“We started the night off walking the streets of Manchester until 10pm. I didn’t do my sleep out with my friends or family which magnified how isolating sleeping rough could be.

“After we had walked the streets we headed back to the Old Victoria Baths for some shelter and we set up our sleeping bags on the hard, cold tiled floor.

“Even though we had shelter we weren’t prepared for the night we had ahead. The temperature was brutal. We had a big thermometer above our heads so we could see just how cold it was, it started at three degrees which dropped through the night to minus one degree. We weren’t allowed food or drink only the bits that the charity gave us.

“The thing I struggled with the most and I didn’t think about beforehand was the impact of

sleeping on a cold hard floor with just a sleeping bag would have on my body. My back went into spasm as we had no pillow and my muscles were frozen solid - it was agony. It gave me massive insight into what homeless people experience; I was freezing, hungry, thirsty, tired, in pain, uncomfortable and I started to feel really dirty sleeping on the floor. I kept thinking about all of the people who this is a reality for.

“The next day I was free to go at 6am and I was so grateful somebody was picking me up in a heated car and taking me to my warm home and my comfortable bed. I could just about bear the conditions with a shelter but not many homeless people get that. If you added getting wet to the mix, I wouldn’t have been able to cope, yet there are people out there that do this day in and day out - it can be fatal.”

Phillipa was one of the highest achieving fundraisers raising £1140 for her sleep out event, with everybody involved that night raising £65,000. This will go towards providing safe, warm shelter, education, counselling sessions and much more for people as young as fourteen who are homeless. Well done Phillipa!