London Quakers sleep outside for homelessness
Quakers will be among those taking part in the World’s Big Sleep Out Campaign this weekend
A team of five London Quakers are to swap their duvets for sleeping bags this weekend to sleep on the streets in order to raise awareness of global homelessness. With a target of £4,200 through the Virgin Money Giving website, the team of five Friends will brave the cold of London’s Trafalgar Square as part of the international World’s Big Sleep Out Campaign.
Quaker Jo Keogh, from Blackheath Meeting, told the Friend she is taking part in the event on 7 December as last Christmas she volunteered for the charity Crisis and found it ‘very rewarding’. She said: ‘I’m trying to think of different strategies for showing support for homelessness, such as carrying coins in my pocket ready to give. This event is showing solidarity and raising the profile of homelessness before the general election, because [the issue] is not being highlighted. It’s not just a protest, but raising money as well.’
London Quaker Fred Ashmore will also be braving the elements, along with Fiona Swift, Maggie Freake and a staff member of the Friend. Fred Ashmore said the initiative was suggested to him by the interfaith group Faiths Forum. He said: ‘I’m taking part because I think homelessness in our rich, bursting-with-affluence capital is an absolute disgrace and I think we accept it much too easily. I’m so happy and middle-class, I think I can cope with a bit of discomfort for the night.’
Fifty per cent of the funds raised from the event in Trafalgar Square will be split between The Big Issue Foundation and four other local homelessness charities: Thames Reach, Depaul UK, The Connection at St Martin’s, and Homeless Link. According to the website: ‘The other fifty per cent will go towards charities helping some of the 68.5 million people displaced globally, who have lost their homes through war, natural disasters, or extreme poverty. These charities include the Malala Fund, UNICEF USA and the Institute of Global Homelessness.’
It is hoped that 50,000 people will take part in events across the world, with the Trafalgar Square being backed by actor Helen Mirren, who will read a bedtime story. The World’s Big Sleep Out Campaign is founded by Josh Littlejohn, co-founder of the charity Social Bite in Scotland.
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