Last night we were part of the team of over 100 individuals, organised by Propertymark, to sleep out at Queen Elizabeth Olympic park, in London, as part of Centrepoint’s Sleep Out.
In 2017/18 more than 103,000 young people asked their local council for help because they were homeless or at risk of homelessness. Centrepoint offers practical on-the-ground support to homeless people age 16-25, focusing on providing a safe place to stay and the building blocks for an independent life. As the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, they operate 60 services across the UK helping vulnerable young people with accommodation, health support and life skills to get them back into education, training and employment. The charity is calling on people to change the story, take urgent action and end youth homelessness for good. Centrepoint’s annual Sleep Out events have been bringing people together to support this cause and raise vital money to fund their work.
Lauren Scott, President, NAEA Propertymark, who took part in the sleep out, said:
“It’s absolutely overwhelming to have this many people from our industry come together on a freezing cold night in November to raise money for such a fantastic cause! The money raised will provide vital safety and security to vulnerable young people in our country, so it’s been fantastic to have such a large turnout.”
Brian Ellis and Richard Dawson represented Tenant Shop, raising a huge £1,035 towards the total.
Speaking before the event, Richard commented:
“Am I looking forward to sleeping out in what is forecast to be 0-4 degree temperatures? No, not at all, I don’t like the cold, can I brave it for one night to help a much needed cause? Of course I can.
“The events agenda looks like it will keep us busy and take our minds off the cold, we have a live band playing and someone to read us bed time stories, it looks like we will be well looked after (but cold).”
Brian Ellis added:
“We helped Propertymark reach 2nd place on the ‘corporate leader board’ which is fantastic. It has been a great evening for a very worthy cause and a pleasure to be part of.”
To show support for the team, donations can still be made via Propertymark’s JustGiving campaign page.