Surface Ripples

A Night Sleeping Rough...

On 15th May 2009, I joined 300 others to sleep rough in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral in support of the homeless. Here's what it taught me....

I survived the night, not least because the changeable weather forced the organisers to have Winchester Cathedral opened, so we could at least sleep “dry”. Some hardy souls did sleep out the whole night (and were rained on at 3.00am!).

What the experience taught me was that it takes very little to knock you off balance. I was fortunate to have a decent meal before I went to sleep on a dry stone floor, and although you can get a decent-ish night’s sleep if you are lucky enough to find shelter like the Cathedral, you still feel wretched the next day. In particular:

You get tired very quickly.

If you are going for a job interview, your mental faculties will be affected by a rough night out, so the chances of failing the interview (and therfore remaining jobless) are much higher.

Being homeless, you may not have been able to wash and brush up before the interview.

It just showed me how quickly the system can become stacked against you. We need to do more for those who have lost their homes, the numbers of which are increasing as houses are re-possessed, or landlords of property sell without giving tenants any time to find alternative accommodation. Being homeless can turn very rapidly into a downward spiral which leaves you feeling hopeless and puts more pressure on our social services.

One thought that struck me was that the Church complains of losing followers, but could be doing more at this stage by providing an alternative to the various nightshelters. After all, the nightshelters have limited space, but there are more churches and/or cathedrals. I know that this raises a host of security, Health & Safety, insurance and other issues, but surely these could be overcome with a bit of determination and pragmatism? Why not ask at your local church and get them thinking about this? Having a dry, sheltered place to sleep for the night really does make a difference.

One of my most inspiring moments was talking to Des (I have changed his name deliberately) – a recovering speed and crack cocaine addict. Des hit drugs for various reasons – peer pressure and personal problems. He has been off drugs now for 17 months and his ambition is to start his own rehabilitation centre for others. Des is a truly likeable person, has turned his life around, and has a goal in life. He is one of the lucky ones, and his determination and strength of character have a lot to do with this.

If offered the chance, I would do this again and hope that what I have said above gives you a brief idea of the challenges that we put in the way of our homeless through not realising what it is that they go through.

Labels: Social

posted by William Martin @ 22:47