Did you know that the number of people rough sleeping in England rose by 27% in 2023? This is according to data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (BBC, 2024).
Rough sleeping is arguably one of the most difficult situations a person can endure, and it is not acceptable that its prevalence is increasing across England.
Over the years, we have fought to raise awareness of rough sleeping, and it’s impacts on people’s health, work and educational opportunities. We’ve done so by hosting annual ‘Sleep for LEAP’ events where our team and local stakeholders sleep on a street in Lincoln from 7pm to 7am with only a sleeping bag and a piece of cardboard for comfort. The nights are often difficult and sleepless, with many participants finding the opportunity to sleep rough to be a profound and eye-opening experience.
This year, we would like our ‘Sleep for LEAP’ event to smash our previous fundraising efforts and raise even more awareness than before!
You can support Sleep for LEAP ’24 by participating on the night or by donating to our fundraising campaigns.
To sign up, email anna.whiley@leap.uk.com. Please note that this event will be hosted on Friday, October 18th 2024 in central Lincoln. An exact location and meet up details will be emailed to you one week before the event.
To support our fundraising campaign, you can donate directly to LEAP through the methods listed on our fundraising page: https://www.leap.uk.com/housing-and-support-for-homeless/donate/
You can also check out our social media pages, where over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing GoFundMe pages set up by individuals participating on the night.