Sleep Out in Redhill for YMCA East Surrey

Last Friday evening, three of our Raven team experienced sleeping rough in the car park of the YMCA Community Centre in Redhill, to help raise money to tackle youth homelessness. Our Raven team raised over £700 for YMCA East Surrey, which was a fantastic total.

Alongside the other participants, our team made shelters out of cardboard boxes and tried to get some sleep. They also spent time with some of the current residents of the YMCA’s temporary accommodation on Brighton Road. One YMCA youth worker shared her story about being homeless and how the support she then received from the YMCA before finally getting her own Raven home was lifechanging for her.

Tricia, Housing Register Co-ordinator at Raven, said: “I am proud of myself of doing this challenge, it was very very icy cold and I drifted in and out of sleep pulling my hat over my face and covers over my head to keep warm, and there were times when I could of easily of given in, but it was the thought of those people out there that has no choice and do this day in day out, it really put it in perspective for me and to carry on.”

While this doesn’t aim to replicate the reality of homelessness, a night spent out in the cold helps to imagine what it is like to not have a safe and warm place to call home.

To find out more about YMCA East Surrey’s temporary accommodation for young people, click here.