Everyone deserves to be truly seen.....

This is my fifth year of joining with a wider UK team to raise money for those experiencing homelessness by sleeping out for one night. I'm seeking to help guests accessing facilities at Webber Street day centre, based near to Waterloo.  As well as providing an address, access to toiletries and clean clothes and shoes, Webber Street seeks to restore dignity to people experiencing homelessness - through art classes; a flat for supported independent living as some who are ready seek to look for jobs; meals; being smiled at rather than attacked, and friendship.  Webber Street also sees people as spiritual people and offers prayer, Bible study and help to get settled into church if guests would like.  

With Brexit, furloughs and COVID-19 the situation has got a lot tougher, but those experiencing homelessness are still people, and still matter. Even my own local council are seeking to criminalise those experiencing homelessness as a 'nuisance'. We can easily blame those experiencing homelessness for their own problems, but this isn't always the case - many have lost jobs over the Pandemic leading to lost accommodation and then addiction to deal with the abuse and dehumanising they experience on the streets.

And why is Webber Street and people experiencing homelessness so important to me? Love. Today in London the number of people sleeping rough has doubled over the past decade, with an average age of death at just 44 years old, with many from suicide. I'm a couple of years older than this average so it's very, very personal - these are my peers who are being treated so terribly! More than one in three people sleeping rough have deliberately been hit or kicked, and a third of women facing homelessness have experienced sexual violence. Hidden behind this are also many who are sofa surfing amongst friends or sleeping in their own vehicles. 

Guests at Webber Street matter. They aren't rough sleepers or the homeless, but people freed from labels, loved and befriended and offered a wide range of practical, spiritual and medical support (such as COVID vaccinations and access to a doctor for foot care).

As this is my fifth year of doing this I'd really like to reach £500 - £100 for every year! But the amount isn't important - the people are. If you can give, £1 or £1,000,000, every penny counts, and if you work in the UK, gift aid can be added to stretch that £1 even further! 

This is the most important thing I do over the year - please join me in helping me to show love to people who really need to know that they matter and are cared for.

Sadly due to COVID, I won't be joining the team by sleeping out at a local park near to Webber Street, nor experiencing the legendary Webber Street breakfast in the morning. Instead, on Saturday 20th November 2021, I will be joining the team as the Zoom contingent, live from my back garden!!!!

See more here about what Webber Street does to support guests here - https://youtu.be/hgglJtEw-x8