One night in the open

Every night in Kingston town centre there are an average of 30 rough sleepers, with more people in parks and alleyways across the borough.

Even one person is an avoidable tragedy, and it is our work to bring that number to zero.

By reaching out, engaging, listening, advising and advocating we are the tip of the spear in the fight against homelessness in Kingston.

Winter nights are cold, the ground is hard, and when you carry everything you own it’s not easy to make the choice as to what to hold on to and what to leave behind, But homelessness doesn’t stop when the season change and the weather, any weather, is an ever-present danger.

Constant exposure to the elements is highly damaging both mentally and physically creating a spiral of vulnerability, which we work to stop every day.

Quite simply the challenge is to experience, for just one night, some of the reality of living without a safe place to sleep and raise as much money as you can to help us end that reality.

We have been given a corner of All Saint’s Churchyard in which we can host just 70 adults for the night of World Homelessness Day (Saturday 10th October), bring only what you need and settle in for the long night.

From 7:30pm to 6:30am, you will be in the company of like-minded people looking to make a difference in someone else’s life, and we will be on hand for conversation and to deepen your understanding of the reality of homelessness.

If you would love to take part but cannot attend the main adults-only site, or if you would like to involve your family, you can still join the movement! We are encouraging our community to host their own Satellite Sleep Outs in back gardens, schools, and church halls. Click here to download your free Host & Teen Empowerment Pack.

As this is a limited capacity challenge, we are asking every participant to commit to raising at least £300 in sponsorship as they take part. 

How you raise funds is up to you, it could be through your friends and family looking to support your understanding of the physical reality of street homelessness, or it could be through your work, some companies are willing to offer what is called “match funding” meaning that for every pound you raise they will double it.

We have partnered with Zeffy for our peer-to-peer fundraising, they are a very low-fee platform that ensures more of your sponsorship goes directly to supporting people for whom your experience is their every day.

Once you have signed up below, you have become one of our partners and we want to help you all the way, we will supply you with our fundraising pack which gives hints and tips for how to maximise your sponsorship as well as instructions on how to set up a page.