Sleepout - a 'great success, despite the cold and low turnout
“Sleepout was a great success, but I t was a hard, cold night for the 140 Sleeping Out for homeless people on Firday and numbers were down due to the cold. But it is even harder for those sleeping outside every night,” said the Chair of Sleepout, Brian Peyton.
140 sleepers turned out, against 400 who normally attend. It was mainly numbers of young people who were not able to come. The Dean of the Cathedral invited everyone to sleep inside the cathedral due to the inclemency of the weather, but most opted to sleep outside nevertheless.
“Temperatures were around zero all through the night and snow fell from midnight. However, the Abbey authorities provided a brazier with a log fire which raised spirits so the whole thing added up to a very Christmassy scene.
“We have had promises of sponsorship money already of over £20,000 despite the low turnout although many were not yet able to provide a promise at this point. We do not, however, expect to reach the £45,300 achieved last year and we appeal to everybody to send a donation in the name of the Sleep out to their local homeless charity to help make up the deficit as homeless charities are under great pressure to keep services going. The Charities taking part in the Sleep out were Open Door, St Albans; Dacorum Emergency Night Shelter, The Watford New Hope Trust, Luton Accommodation and Move on Project and Leighton Linslade Homeless Service.”
The Deputy Mayor of St Albans, Cllr Beric Read added: “I participated in the Sleepout on behalf of the St Albans charity, Open Door and so far I have raised £655. Having experienced what it was like sleeping out in the bitter cold and snow, I can assure everyone that this is an excellent cause and I encourage everyone to contribute something. It is not too late – you can still visit my page on the ‘justgiving’ website for a quick and easy way to make a donation: www.justgiving.com/beric-read/ direct to the charity.”