I've decided to celebrate my birthday a little differently this year by taking part in the Depaul Sleepout challenge, giving up my bed for the night and sleeping rough in Borough Market to raise much needed funds and awareness for the homelessness crisis affecting young people today. 

So instead of buying me a birthday drink why not do something much more useful and donate to Depaul instead.

 Depaul works in some of the UK's most disadvantaged communities, looking to prevent homelessness and provide support to vulnerable young people at every step of their journey.

From emergency accommodation to longer-term housing to outreach services in the community, we provide immediate solutions for young people in crisis.

Below is Max's story, 

“My family moved around a lot when I was growing up. We lived in North London and East London for bits. I didn’t have a great relationship with my father. When I was 12 it got too much. I left.

I stayed with family and friends. Staying with people, you feel in debt. I was always overcompensating. I did my best to be the perfect guest. My nickname became ‘Mr Smiley’. There wasn’t always somewhere to go. When I slept rough, I had my own little bench I used to go to.”

 This is just part of Max’s story (name changed for anominity). Things went from difficult to worse when Max had to put studying on hold to support his younger brother. Max found himself sleeping rough before being sign-posted to our Nightstop London service.

 “At Nightstop I felt safe. They DBS check all the people you stay with and it feels like you’re invited into a family home for the night.”

 Nightstop London is a community hosting service that works thanks to the kindness of strangers who open up their spare rooms for the evening, so a young person has a safe, warm place to sleep for the night.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.