Sleeping Rough at Christmas
I was born in Totnes and prior to moving here to live in 2022 I would visit the town once a week to explore the local area. I made a decision that I would do something to help the homeless people that I spoke to once in a while in the town. My initial idea was a simple soup kitchen but after a lot of discussions with many different people I decided that the most practical thing to do would be to provide a survival pack service instead.
On the 20th of May this year I did a sponsored “rough sleep“, sleeping outside of the church where my friend Michael died of hypothermia in 2012. I did this for three nights to raise funds to start the service to help homeless people sleeping rough here. The survival packs consist of a four season sleeping bag, survival bag to keep the sleeping bag dry, waterproof clothing and a dry sack to keep them all in. The intention is to provide life saving items. If Michael had a survival bag, that costs the price of a couple of coffees at a cafe, it would have very likely saved his life the night he died.
A lot has happened over the last seven months!
I have provided sleeping bags, survival bags, tents and waterproof clothing to nine men and two women sleeping rough in the local area. Two of these men and one woman came to Totnes to escape street violence in other nearby towns and cities. Research has shown that rough sleepers are three times more likely to be murdered than any other member of society. Not only does sleeping rough take a terrible toll on one’s mental, emotional and physical health, it is also a dangerous way to live; especially in the winter when exposure to the elements can be life threatening.
The local authorities have housed some of these rough sleepers. One of them was a woman that had been sleeping rough for eighteen months in the local area and now has a flat in Kingsbridge. The last time I spoke to her she is hoping for a happy outcome with a job she has applied for and she is so much happier now. When I met her to give her a new sleeping bag and waterproof clothing she was suffering from terribly poor mental health.
However, housing someone is not always the final answer. I recall the authorities housing one man but I said to myself that he will be back sleeping rough in the town again within 24 hours of being housed, and that is what happened. There are a lot of complex problems that some rough sleepers are beset with and this service can help to alleviate the suffering of such people.
In August the BBC came to film and interview me for the South West evening news on the television. Then in October ITV came to film and interview me for their South West evening news too. This led to me receiving messages from people in the UK, US, Canada and Australia asking me questions about the survival packs as the news coverage inspired them to want to do the same where they live. This inspiration has led one charity in Kent to set up providing survival packs in the same way that you can read about below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgv4gn82nxo
This reminds me that we must never underestimate the impact that we can all potentially have in making the world a better place where everyone can have the opportunity to live a life with dignity.
If anyone has any spare or unwanted tents, winter sleeping bags, waterproof clothing, or you want to get involved then please let me know via the project page below or by calling the service number on 07950 3539480:
https://www.facebook.com/totnesroughsleepers
God bless and thank you to everyone that has helped to keep this service running with their kindness and generosity.