I spent a night sleeping rough in London - Will you support the reason why I did?

I committed to spending a night sleeping rough in London's iconic Paternoster Square, St Paul's last Thursday 27th March, which I DID and in the process also committed to raise £10,000 for Action for Children.

The experience I had trying to sleep outside on what was a cold but dry London night on a hard and very cold pavement was only bearable as I knew that it was only for one night and I would be going home to a hotshower and warm bed in the morning. I very much felt the cold even though I had the appropriate clothing and a good sleeping Bag! Had the weather been wet and miserable it would have been very much harder and it could have even been worse by being colder and snowing/hailing which thankfully it wasn't!

Through the night I kept thinking, (and really hated the thought), of those vulnerable children that had NO choice because of their unfortunate circumstances that HAD to sleep out. This being no matter on how harsh the weather conditions were so I felt very humbled and glad that on the night we raised the money that we did and helped raise the awareness of the very sad and tragic plight of youth homelessness.

Action for Children has been at the heart of child welfare in the UK for 145 years. Across 650 services in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, they support over 300,000 children, young people, carers and parents every year with safety, well being and happiness at the forefront of all they do.

The 'CEO Sleepout' was specifically aimed to highlight the shocking truths that exist in the UK around youth homelessness and raise funds to aid Action for Children in their direct work keeping vulnerable young people off the streets and offering a path to a safe and secure future.

It is thought that approximately 100,000 young people were homeless in the UK last year, some as young as 13 years old. 1 in 7 will have experienced physical or sexual abuse. 1 in 3 will have attempted to take their life. Less than a third of these young people will not have even been reported missing from home.

I slept out to raise awareness of these issues and to contribute to Action for Children projects like West Suffolk Shared Housing and Dorset Nightstop - safe, supported lodgings where staff aim to build confidence and self-worth preparing care leavers and young people who are otherwise homeless for independent, sustainable living and the opportunity to reach their aspirations.

Many thanks in Advance.