Ian and I will be walking from Walsingham in North Norfolk, England, to Vezelay in the Burgundy Region of France and then on to Santiago de Compostella at the North Western tip of Spain. With about 1600 miles and almost 100 night stops along the way we will be spending nearly four months on the road. We will carry all we need in the packs on our backs and will, effectively be homeless!

 Why?

We are doing it not just as a personal pilgrimage of faith and love, but as a public pilgrimage in solidarity with all those who are homeless, who have been displaced and who do not have any choice in the fact that they have no where to live that is safe, comfortable, permanent, warm, clean or sufficient to provide them with the home they need to live a decent life. We are hoping to highlight their plight and encourage you to share your good fortune by digging deep to help Housing Justice in their work.

 

More about us:

 

We will be pilgrims very much like the ones who criss-crossed over Europe throughout the Middle Ages; walking every step of the way, relying for our food and shelter on the kindness of people on the way and on special hostels or Refugios as we get closer to our goal. In effect, we will be homeless, never staying in one place for more than a day or so and living very simply, carrying all that we need with us - all our clothes and equipment ... everything!

 

Partly, we are doing this because we have been fellow pilgrims for many years now and this is an expression of that journey we have shared and plan to continue to share for a long time yet!

 

Partly, we feel the time is right - we are capable of it now and know that each year we put it aside is another year missed and another year closer to the time when we will not be able to do it.

 

Crucially, we will be walking in solidarity with homeless and badly housed people everywhere and all those who work to resolve the problems surrounding these issues – especially those working for and with Housing Justice. We hope to raise the profile of the homeless and housing issues and raise funds for Housing justice as we walk.

 

Roughly speaking, a penny a mile is only £16.00, a penny a night stop is only £10.00. And if you choose, you could sponsor us at a rate of £10 per month during our walk, which would come to only £40.00 in total. The most eccentric idea people have suggested so far is that they will monitor our journey and sponsor us on a sliding alphabetical scale depending on where we stop for the night (places beginning with A for 10p, B for 11p and so on). Of course, at a rate of around 4 million steps taken by each of us during our journey, there is no limit to the amount you could commit to when sponsoring us! But I know, whether you choose a simple or a playful method, and regardless of its size, all of your donations will be extremely gratefully received!

 

Finally, please reflect on this: we are ready and willing to face the discomforts we expect to experience during our journey because we know that they are not permanent (we have an end in sight), we will gain a lot of enjoyment and benefits from the journey despite any unpleasant experiences and, quite simply, we have chosen to do this –it has not been forced on us.

 

The people we walk in solidarity with have no choice, no end in sight and are living very hard and harsh lives!

 

So, as we walk, we will reflect on and pray for those people and we ask you to do the same and to pray for those who work to give them support and help. So please dig deep into you pockets to share your good fortune with those who need your help.

 

Support Housing Justice and you will help to make a difference to the lives of so many people!

 

Check out our progress on our website and Blog and share our journey. Tell your friends and encourage them to help, too.

 

And remember, donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’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’s the most efficient way to donate - and to raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

 

So please dig deep and donate now.