MPs give up bed to help homeless for homelessness charity Depaul’s annual Sleepout event
BY CALUM FRASER
calum@slpmedia.co.uk
MPs, peers and professionals gave up their beds to sleep out in the elements and raise money for a homeless charity.
Homelessness charity Depaul ran its annual Sleepout event at the Oval cricket ground to raise funds for its prevention services which ensure young people across the UK and abroad don’t end up sleeping on the streets.
MPs including Nick Herbert, Will Quince, Sandy Martin, Gillian Keegan and Adam Holloway slept rough along with Baroness Grender, Baroness Suttie and Lord Bethell, and professionals such as News UK Chief Operating Officer David Dinsmore, a former editor of The Sun.
Depaul runs a day centre at Sherborne House, Southwark, which also serves as the base of Nightstop London, its emergency accommodation service, and Alone in London, a preventative advice and support service for young people at risk of homelessness.
Supported housing in Westminster, Bromley, Brent and Greenwich, as well as prisons work for former offenders facing homelessness, are also managed by Depaul from Sherborne House.
Depaul UK chief executive Mike Thiedke said: “Depaul Sleepout is a powerful event which changes perceptions about people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
“It brings together London’s dynamic and caring business community who do so much to support our work in Britain and abroad.
“Giving up the comfort of your bed to help people who are marginalised and living in isolation is a humbling, valuable and memorable experience.
I will be out there with my sleeping bag this year, and would urge all professionals to join us at this year’s Depaul Sleepout and help to end homelessness once and for all.”
The evening included music from a young person supported by Depaul, a charity auction, soup dinner and a cash bar.
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