We are excited to announce that its 2019 Sleep Out, in partnership with Southern Co-op, will be taking place on November 15th, in Victoria Park, Portsmouth.

This is the first time The Society of St James' annual Sleep Out has taken place in Portsmouth, which will see individuals and teams (businesses and community groups) sleep under the stars next to its popular social enterprise café, the Café in the Park.

We are asking people to take part and to 'Wake Up to Homelessness' so that others can wake up in their own home, and aim to raise as much as £18,000 during the event, which will go towards supporting vulnerable people who face significant barriers to finding a home to call their own.

CEO of The Society of St James, Trevor Pickup, said: "We are delighted to be running our first Sleep Out event in Portsmouth and to be able to do so in Victoria Park in the city centre, so close to our well-supported Cafe in the Park.

The Society of St James has played a significant part in reducing the numbers sleeping rough in the city, by running both emergency accommodation and providing long term housing. We are still working hard to solve this problem by making more property available for these vulnerable adults and your fundraising will go a long way towards supporting us in this vision."

he event is in association with the local co-operative, Southern Co-op, whose colleagues have been instrumental in helping promote the charity's Pay it Forward initiative, as well as naming The Society of St James as their charity partner for 2019.