Dear All, 

On Friday 9th October, I will be giving up my warm bed in my comfortable home to sleep rough on the streets of Chelsea (Duke of York Square). 

Why? Alongside some of the highest-value property in the country, West London also has one of the highest numbers of rough sleepers. I would like to do what I can by raising funds for a very worthwhile local charity, Glass Door (formerly West London Churches Homeless Concern).  Glass Door runs London's largest winter night shelter for the homeless, and offers casework to get people into stable accommodation and work.  

I can't pretend it will be as frightening for me to sleep rough, in company with up to 300 others, on Duke of York Square with portaloos and stewards, as it must be for people who are truly homeless, alone and with no other option but to sleep on the street. It probably won't be too cold (let's hope it doesn't rain) and it's only for one night. Then we'll be back in our own homes and beds. The men and women who come to Glass Door's emergency winter night shelters have no such comfortable expectation, and nowhere else to turn.  

I know you have many calls on your generosity, but if you would like to help, please sponsor me.

A few facts and figures:

£10 will provide a rough sleeper with a sleeping bag and mat

£20 will accommodate and feed a rough sleeper for one night in the shelter

£60 covers the cost of providing a hot evening meal for upwards of 60 people in the shelter

They don’t just provide crisis relief over winter. Caseworkers offer support and advice to all the men and women who stay with them, and help many of them find a way out of homelessness into more secure accommodation and a better future. Last year, over 120 men and women found jobs with the help of the charity, and 98 moved into more permanent accommodations.  

Thank you – any donation, no matter how small, will be very much appreciated.