<p>Hi,</p> <p>On Alan's birthday we'd had a great day in London, culminating in afternoon tea and strolling back to our hotel through the city centre. We were approached by a Big Issue vendor. We stopped to buy a copy and after chatting, it turned out that the guy was celebrating his birthday too, but in a completely different way to us. I was spurred into action to try and raise awareness that no homeless person actually wants to be homeless.</p> <p>I have now done a sponsored 'Sleep Out'&nbsp;on the&nbsp;4th of&nbsp;February&nbsp;for ARCH North Staffs from 10pm to 6am.I slept&nbsp;outside, in the cold. It was about 5 degrees, windy as anything and the floor was hard.</p> <p>The basic principle for the event is that people sleep outside for a night, not only to help raise money to support the homeless work of ARCH but to help raise awareness to help prevent homelessness. This date has been chosen to link in with National Homelessness Week. Following the Christmas festivities, it is an&nbsp;appropriate time&nbsp;to reflect on those who have been shut out in the cold during the celebrations.</p> <p>It&nbsp;makes me realise how priviledged I am to have a roof over my head and lots of lovely belongings. We see so many homeless people on the street these days that we have almost become blind to it and don't want to understand their situation.</p> <p>Where would I be without my friends and family ? I've raised my target from one nights hotel stay to a weeks stay and now maybe even a fortnight,&nbsp;so please dig deep and think about me and my fellow homeless people when you snuggle under your duvet on Friday the 4th of Feb!</p> <p>This is a real personal challenge as I absolutely hate the cold&nbsp;and this is a situation that has really touched my heart&nbsp;so I hope you can help me.</p> <p>Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</p> <p>(Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving &ndash; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.)</p>