Sleep Out with Sussex Homeless

Families, poets and musicians invited to

Sussex Homeless Support’s big Sleep Out

at Hove Lagoon!

For Immediate Release 28 September 2018

Local families in Brighton, Hove and beyond are being invited to camp out together at Sussex Homeless Support’s (SHS) first Sleep Out on Friday 5 October. There will be live music, hot food and drinks and a camp fire at Hove Lagoon. Tents will be provided and there will be security all night.

Officially announcing the event, Jim Deans, founder of Sussex Homeless Support explained: “We wanted to put together a fun event, where people can come together with their community and toast some marshmallows. But there’s a serious message too: as the nights draw in - we don’t want another winter like 2017 when far too many of Brighton & Hove’s most vulnerable people died on our streets. We don’t want to see any more deaths on our streets throughout the cold months of 2018 and beyond. It’s every person’s right to have a basic roof over their head. We are inviting all local politicians to join us for just one night and experience how sleeping out feels.”

There will be hot soup served from the Big Beach Cafe at the Lagoon all evening - from when the evening starts at 6pm until 11pm. Those sleeping out can rent an airbed for the night for £3 (already inflated) or pay £5 for two beds. Tents will be free (you are also welcome to bring your own).

The team will be on hand to fill up your hot water bottles and top up your flasks with warm drinks throughout the night.

Jim adds: “This will give people a very small taste of what rough sleeping is like but we hope the night will have a big impact. We’ll keep the fire burning until at least midnight and are welcoming poets, musicians and story-tellers to entertain guests. We’re grateful to Jamie and the team at Hove Lagoon for supporting us on what we hope will be a warm and cozy night for all in the area who care about the most vulnerable members of our community.”

Event info and registration:

Guests must register to participate in the event, either via clicking the ‘going’ button on the SHS Facebook page ‘Sussex Homeless Support CIO’ (https://www.facebook.com/events/472344569919188/) . Or alternatively, by emailing ***** with their name. Guests are welcome but not obliged to raise sponsorship for their participation and can find the sponsorship form under ‘files’ on the Facebook page.

Tents will be set up all round the cafe. Sleep out starts 6pm Friday 5th October and finishes the following morning Saturday 6th at 10 am, with all tents cleared by 12pm. If you wish donate your own tent, please let the team know in the morning.

Notes to editors:

About Sussex Homeless Support (SHS)
Based in Brighton but with links covering the UK, SHS is a homeless charity that works with and supports many others in the city to achieve its ambition of zero food poverty and 100% support for all people in Brighton.

As well as collecting food and items of clothing and distributing them out daily to people on the streets, SHS provides cooking for the Anti-Freeze Homeless Project (Mondays) and hosts the lively Street Kitchen at the Clock tower on Sundays. The charity also provides supplies to people recently re-housed and has secured a tenancy for at least one of the people it serves.

The Mobile Night Shelter
In a converted double decker bus, SHS runs a mobile night shelter, mainly over the winter, with bunk beds, bathroom, seating area and hot food. Trained volunteers operate the bus, ensuring that it is a safe and secure place to sleep.

The bus also acts as an education source, so schools for example, can see and learn more about the homeless crisis.

Sunday Street Kitchen
The lively Street Kitchen runs every Sunday at the Brighton Clock tower, sometimes serving up to 100 people. It sets up at 1pm and finishes at 3pm and leaves little evidence it was there at all. During that time, volunteers serve hot food and drinks and provide supplies such as clothing, sleeping bags and toiletries to people who have been unfortunate enough to have ended up on the streets.

The Street Vets are also present, giving food, toys and providing medical treatment for homeless dogs.

If you want to help out, just come down, stand behind the stall and pitch in. You are welcome to bring food or other items or to just help out.

Contact to donate and volunteer or for further information:
Sussex Homeless Support, Unit 7E 196 Old Shoreham Rd, Hove BN3 7EX

Email: Jim Deans at jimdeans@devlinmediagroup.co.uk
Tel: Jim Deans 07774 266244

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sussexhomelesssupport/
Twitter: @SussexNightBus
Donate to the GoFundMe appeal set up by Jim Deans - Homeless and Rough Sleepers: https:// www.gofundme.com/homeless-and-rough-sleeper-crisis

Press enquiries:

Julia Nye

07753 660775 julia.a.nye@btinternet.com / claudiacahalane@gmail.com