Our country has been through many crisis over the last several years. Whether it is COVID-19, the cost of living or high inflation, this has been a difficult period for the nation. However a separate crisis has continued throughout that time, and even before; the rough sleeping crisis.

In England alone, over 309,000* people were homeless in December 2023, with many on the street. A number of these people have nothing but a blanket to keep them warm as the temperatures drop below zero degrees this winter.

Rough sleeping is on the rise. The numbers of people sleeping rough have increased two years in a row**, and as the nights begin to draw in once again, we are back to help everyone #sleepwarm this winter.

How do we do this? Two ways.

Firstly, we provide rough sleepers with a sleeping bag, making sure they will SURVIVE the cold nights. Then, we work to put them in touch with shelters and outreach groups, ensuring they can LIVE.

Across December and January, we will begin handing out sleeping bags across the country, from London to Newcastle, Nottingham to Bristol, Leicester and Derby, and all the way up to Edinburgh.

Then, when Christmas fundraising is over, the decoration lights are off and the jingle bells are silent, the big job begins; the fourth Big Handout.

In February 2025 our entire Charity will be out, across nine cities on one night, distributing sleeping bags to all who need them. On last year’s Big Handout we distributed over 150 sleeping bags on just that night, and this year we want to push that even higher.

Following the Big Handout we will continue handing out sleeping bags nationwide as we work to ensure everyone can #sleepwarm.

*** UPDATE ***

We have so far handed out over three hundred sleeping bags this campaign, pushing us passed our 1100th sleeping bag! This is only possible thanks to the donations here, as well as our corporate partnerships. Please help us continue handing out sleeping bags across the country! We are continuing our handouts across London, the East Midlands, Bristol, Teesside Edinburgh and Birmingham well into the summer, and any support is greatly appreciated!

We will support rough sleepers wherever we can, but we cannot do it without your support. Please help us raise funds to ensure everyone will #sleepwarm this winter, and that everyone will #livewarm going forward.

*https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2023/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2023#:~:text=england%2Dautumn%2D2023-,1.,risen%20by%2027%25%20since%202022.

For more information, please visit our website here.

The RPHF is a registered charity (1204353) who support rough sleepers across the country, as well as working with food banks and shelters to get people off the streets. Find out more about us here. For information on how funds are spent please click here.

*https://england.shelter.org.uk/media/press_release/at_least_309000_people_homeless_in_england_today

**Source: https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/britains-homelessness-shame-cold-hard-facts/#:~:text=How%20many%20people%20are%20homeless,single%20night%20in%20autumn%202022.