Four students from the University of Kent will be spending five nights on the streets of Canterbury as part of Poverty & Homelessness Action Week to raise awareness around single homelessness and raise money for charity Porchlight.
Zoe, Alex and Damon in an independent video discussing high spirits,
boredom, and people’s reactions to the homeless on the third night of their
five night rough sleepout.
The students, who are part of voluntary University society ‘Students Against Homelessness,’ will attempt to experience the reality rough sleepers face on a daily basis in the county.
Alex Self, 19, currently studying German at the University, is determined to get the public to recognise the desperate situation some of their fellow citizens find themselves in.
Alex said, “We were inspired to do this after watching a video on YouTube of students doing a similar thing in Montreal. They managed to do it in eight inches of snow. Hopefully our conditions won’t be quite so harsh but I don’t expect it to be a pleasant experience. Unfortunately it is reality for so many.”
The fundraisers will have sleeping bags, warm clothes and friends visiting regularly with hot drinks but Alex explains that the experience aims to be as close to reality as possible, “If it rains we will find shelter just the same as any rough sleeper. I will not be going home.”
Rachel van Hoven, Community Fundraising Officer, is delighted the group have chosen Porchlight to benefit from their challenge, “It’s great to see people combining fundraising with something that highlights the issue. We hope it will inspire more people to organise sponsored events for us.”
The students will be sleeping out from Friday 29th January – Tuesday 2nd February.
Rachel van Hoven
You can sponsor Alex and his fellow students online at Virgin Money Giving… (opens in new window)
Porchlight’s Kent Outreach Service which supports rough sleepers across the county is one of the largest in the country. The team provide street outreach, a freephone helpline number 0800 5677699 and local drop-ins. The charity regularly helps people sleeping rough to find suitable longer term accommodation.
If you would like to fundraise for Porchlight visit our Fundraising Pages for ideas, guides and top-tips…
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Notes to the Editor:
1. Poverty & Homelessness Action Week 2010 will run from 30 January to 7 February. More information at the Action Week website… (opens in new window)
About ‘Students Against Homelessness’
Students Against Homelessness are a group of students based at the University of Kent in Canterbury who aim to:
• raise funds for local charities that work with homeless people.
• raise public awareness about and educate on the issues surrounding homelessness
• work directly with homeless people and responding to their needs.
We also have a continuing outreach programme which provides sandwiches, soup ect. to people on the streets and also allows us to get to know people so that we can try and make more of a difference in their lives.
About Porchlight
1. Porchlight is a Kent wide independent local charity that works to support single, vulnerable homeless people or those at risk of homelessness. It was established in 1974 as Canterbury Cyrenians and works throughout Kent.
2. Porchlight has accommodation based projects in Canterbury, Dover, Ashford and Ramsgate. The outreach team works with street homeless people as well as supporting former homeless people in their own homes, to prevent them returning to street life. Other services support people in their own homes who are at risk of becoming homeless.
3. In 2008-9 Porchlight helped over 1,600 vulnerable people. Porchlight projects include:
Kent Outreach: Our street outreach team work across Kent providing support for rough sleepers and people in temporary accommodation. They provide drop-in sessions, a free phone helpline number 0800 567 7699 and work within prisons to help offenders who will be released from prison homeless.
Young Persons Services: This includes a direct access hostel, longer stay hostel and shared house, providing support for a number years, until each individual is ready to live independently.
Mental Health: We run a housing project in Dover specifically for people with enduring mental ill-health. We also provide support to 7 clients in another purpose built accommodation project in Margate. In addition we also have a young persons’ mental health service that enables young homeless people with mental health problems to better access the health services they need.
General Accommodation: We have hostels in Canterbury, Dover, Ashford and Ramsgate. They range in the levels of support provided from high support needs with staff available 24hrs a day, to medium support with staff available on a 9-5pm basis.
Floating Support: This is a preventative service that provides support to vulnerable people in their own home who are at risk of becoming homeless. Many of these clients have been through the hostel system and are almost ready to live independently but just need a little support every now and again.
Training and Service User Involvement: We have a team that works with people accessing any of our services and helps them develop their skills and education. We provide tailored training and encourage people to get involved in the running and improvement of their project, or volunteer on a more formal level in the organisation. Porchlight is committed to involving our service users throughout all the activities of the charity. They are actively encouraged to become involved in education, employment, volunteering and service user involvement opportunities.
