Welcome to October! It’s strange to me that even as I approach my 51st birthday on the 27th I still get excited when the month starts with an O. However, as important as it is, my birthday is not the only thing of note that happens in October.
Starting with the Kingston Half Marathon this Sunday, I spent some time studying the route this morning and my stomach flipped! My goodness, it’s a long way!
Then there’s Harvest festivals. Big thanks to the schools and churches who have promised their collections to us, and I’m very much looking forward to meeting the students at a New Malden primary school next week.
There’s our annual Halloween Party in the Bridge to look forward to at the end of the month. It’s always a treat to see the staff costumes for this event (watch the socials for this year’s parade).
And, of course, next weekend there’s World Homelessness Day and our Big Sleep Out Event! The team is slowly growing but there are still PLENTY of spaces for you to join us.
We’ve been sitting in quite deep contemplation lately on this event. It’s such a powerful thing to align yourself with the reality of rough sleeping, even if just for one night.
In answer to the question “Do you think doing a Big Sleep Out will help raise awareness of homelessness?” one of the people we support said “I couldn’t think of a better way to do it.”
As an event it’s more than just a fundraiser: it’s an act of solidarity. Taking part shows deep empathy for those for whom rough sleeping is a daily reality and the lasting understanding of that reality cannot be understated. A participant from 2024’s Sleep Out is now a trustee of the charity.
Our cause is a literal lifeline for the people we support. Since I started writing this weekly update in March there have been 206 new registrations with the Housing Crisis Intervention Service. That’s 206 single Kingston resident adults who had nowhere else to turn.
Without our existence that’s 206 more people who would be rough sleeping today.
But, being able to find solutions for those people costs money, which is why we hold these fundraising events. They are the moments for the community to come together and make the statement that every person matters.
It’s ok to feel nervous about the experience and it’s ok to feel unsure about asking friends and family to sponsor you to undertake it, those are real and valid concerns, but it’s in facing those thoughts and making those requests that change can happen.
The 206 new people we’ve seen in the last 8 months (let alone the people we already have a relationship with) felt nervous and unsure but they came to us and made the request for help and we were there to give it.
I’m now asking you for help.
Click the banner below to sign up for the Big Sleep Out, make your fundraising page and share it with the people who know you. Every single pound raised by taking part in this life-changing event makes a difference.
