The YMCA are hosting their 10th annual sleep easy event in Lincoln this week.
The event is to tackle homelessness in Lincoln and to raise money for the Sleep Easy scheme. The Nomad Trust aims to raise £30,000 through their campaign.
Participants will arrive at 7pm at Lincoln Cathedral on Friday 15th March 2018 until 7am on Saturday 16th March 2019.
Last year, over 60 people slept on the street in aid of the charity, and are issued a registration pack before the event. It will cost £15 for attending the night, in which all funds will go directly to YMCA Lincolnshire and towards building a vital day centre in Lincoln.
Zoe Conville, marketing officer at the YMCA said: “We have over 100 people signed up to this year’s event which includes a vast range of people, including the Police Crime Commissioner.
An event like this is vital for raising much needed funds and for raising the profile of an issue that our society needs to face.”
Lincolnshire Action Trust are also getting involved with the event for the first time. Director of operations Christina Hall said: “I am very passionate about it, I can go home tonight and I know I’ve got a bed, the people we’re working with don’t know when their next meal is, so for me one night of hardship is nothing in comparison.”
“It is very obvious that there is a problem in Lincoln and we need to make sure that organisations such as us and the YMCA are here to respond instantly to people who need help and that those people know we’re here.”
Since 2010, Sleep Easy has seen more than 6,000 people sleeping rough for a night to raise awareness of homelessness, with Lincoln’s first event being hosted in 2009.
The YMCA is currently housing 108 people aged 18-66 and is one of the biggest providers of supported accommodation in Lincoln. It merged with the Nomad Trust in 2013.
In the latest 2016/17 report by The City of Lincoln council, over 6000 homeless applications were made to housing authorities across Lincolnshire, and in 2017, 80 people were recorded as homeless in Lincoln.