Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Rough sleeping numbers have more than doubled in the past six years across England and is more visible on our streets than I ever remember.  When most of us walk past these people do we ever stop to think about their story and what it would be like to experience their lives.

I recently met with a group of former rough sleepers who were living in one of our services in Manchester.  They shared some of their experiences with me, which included passers by kicking them when they were trying to sleep, urinating on them and verbally abusing them.

If you're rough sleeper research has found that your average life expectancy is 47 years old and on average you are six times more likely to attend A&E, are admitted to hospital four times as often and stay three times as long as the housed population.  So highlighting the issue of rough sleeping and raising some funds for Church Housing Trust – the charity which raises funds on Riverside’s behalf to support our customers – is of great importance to me personally.

Church Housing Trust (CHT) fundraise to support our Street Buddies outreach service.  This service benefits from teams of people with lived experience of homelessness and rough sleeping to support and rehouse entrenched rough sleepers.  Our volunteers and workers build trusting relationships within no set timeframe and aim to inspire positive change, using lived experience to connect with rough sleepers.  CHT also provide funding for customer packs for rough sleepers with warm hats, scarves and gloves included as well as toiletries and personal hygiene items.

On the 16 October 2017 I will be taking part in the CEO Sleep Out and spending one night sleeping outdoors to raise awareness.  By no means will I experience what it is truly like to sleep rough, however, as the Executive Director of Care and Support for Riverside - who are the 3^rd largest provider of homelessness services in the UK – it is a small gesture at a time when the services we provide have never been needed more.

Last year Riverside worked with 11,000 people across the country who were homeless or at risk of homelessness, supporting 5,000 to move into permanent accommodation and 800 into employment.

I am hoping that you will support my efforts to raise funds for CHT.