**120 people slept under the stars outside Carrow Road last night to raise money to
support local young people at a Sleep Out event organised by a local charity.**
The Benjamin Foundation, which works to prevent youth homelessness in Norfolk
and Suffolk, held their annual Norwich Sleep Out at Norwich City Football Club. The
event challenged people to spend one night sleeping outside so young people don’t
have to.
An estimated 121,000 young people faced homelessness in the UK last year
(source: Centrepoint). The Benjamin Foundation provides a safe home and support
to over 100 local vulnerable 18-25 year olds in Norfolk and Suffolk each night. The
charity supports them into successful, independent living by helping them to learn
essential life skills, such as cooking and budgeting, as well as supporting their
education and career aspirations, while building their resilience and self-esteem. This vital work gives local vulnerable young people stability, new opportunities and
prevents the local street homelessness problem from growing.
Sleep Out does not aim to replicate homelessness and what it is like to be lonely,
frightened and vulnerable, but it does give participants a small glimpse of some of
the challenges homeless people may face, while also being an important fundraiser for The Benjamin Foundation.
Saffron Housing Trust was one of the teams taking part in Sleep Out. So far, they
have raised over £850. CEO James Francis said: “As an organisation, like The
Benjamin Foundation, we play an important role in preventing people becoming
homeless, and having ten colleagues participating in this evening’s Sleep Out is our
small way of raising awareness of the challenges many young people face today.”
“When you are fortunate enough to have a nice home to sleep in, getting just a sample of what it might be like to not have that foundation in life is a
real eye-opener.”
Donna Williamson was taking part in her first Sleep Out for The Benjamin
Foundation. She said: “I’ve always supported charities. I can’t imagine any of my
children sleeping on the streets. One night doesn’t put me out. It’s a really good experience and it always amazes me what people do for charity. Along with
colleagues, I’ve raised over £300.”
The Benjamin Foundation is passionate about being able to give more local young
people the right help at the right time, especially with challenges caused by the
pandemic.
“Money raised at Sleep Out enables us to do even more to help local vulnerable
young people when they need us the most, supporting them to create the building
blocks to successful, independent living," Sleep Out Event Manager, Jessica Glover, explains. "This has a huge impact on local young lives.”
The Benjamin Foundation is proud to be the eastern region partner of the End Youth
Homelessness (EYH) partnership. Each of the EYH member charities around the UK
organise Sleep Out events every November to help support young people to lead
successful, independent lives.
Jessica continues: “After being unable to hold Sleep Out in 2020 due to the
pandemic, we were thrilled to bring our much-loved Sleep Out back to Norwich this
year and would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who spent one night
outside last night and to all those who supported the event to help more local
young people to finally feel hopeful of a better future.”
If you would like to make a contribution to support The Benjamin Foundation’s work
with local young people, please make a donation here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/norwichsleepout2021
Image credit: The Benjamin Foundation