I've had a great Christmas with lovely family in lovely houses with good food and good cheer. I'm really conscious others haven't, including so many homeless people who suffer in so many ways all year round. I came across this sleepout event for a brilliant local charity I know and it struck me as one tiny thing I could do.

I'm doing this sleep-out for two main reasons. 

One is obviously to raise money for Julian House.. Until this year I've mainly worked in social housing and homelessness, including as residential volunteer in a young homeless persons' community, homelessness officer for large city councils, peer education worker for Shelter, manager of a high support homeless hostel and community support services, and commissioner for street homelessness and complex needs services. I know Julian House are a great organisation doing life-changing (and often life-saving) work across the SW, and obviously need as much cash as possible in these hugely challenging times of increasing numbers and complexity of their service users, combined with the sad impacts of austerity. I'm so clear that outreach teams, winter nightshelters, specialist ex-offenders' and women's supported housing, Housing First projects etc that are all provided by Julian House in Exeter (and wider) can be of immense value to individuals who not only are particularly vulnerable right here and now, but all too often have experienced horrendous traumas in childhood and throughout their lives. Like all of us, they deserve safety, shelter, support, and all the "hierarchy of needs"...

The other reason is more personal. Despite that time working in the sector, I've never before done a sleep-out! I'm so fortunate never to have been homeless in any form, let alone on the street. At two points in my life - following a marriage break-up overseas, and a serious illness - I very easily could have been, were it not for the loving willingness and ability of family and partner to look after me. "There but for the grace of God" isn't quite the right term, but you know what I mean - I'm clear it really could happen to any of us. In my immersion in that line of work I guess I felt I was "doing my bit", and I'm afraid I remember slightly looking down at charity sleep-outs as well-meaning tokenism. I now think it can be really useful.

Julian House are rightly explicit that "No one is under any illusion that spending one night under the stars could possibly replicate what it is like to be homeless and on the streets. After the Big Exeter Sleep-Out you can go home, have a warm bath, have a nice breakfast and chat to family or friends about your experience, perhaps even go back to bed to catch up on the sleep you lost the night before." Plus I'll be in a safe place, without risk of attack from associates or strangers; and won't be dealing with a background of a childhood in 'care', being repeatedly raped as a teenager, enslaved in county lines exploitation, have multiple addictions, significant physical and mental health issues, criminal record, lack of family, purpose, hope... I don't want to generalise - everyone of course is different - but I've seen this kind of scenario and worse so many times.

So anyway, now that I've been out of the homelessness work world for a while, I feel it's time to do a tiny thing to raise a bit of money and awareness. It's also time to challenge myself to imagine again, to glimpse how this one little/massive bit of it, how sleeping out Feels in my body and spirit. And then to see where that takes me in any future campaigning etc.

Any contribution, small or large, would of course be hugely appreciated. Thanks so much, Chris x