Will you sleep rough to help the homeless?

On Saturday 14th March, Exeter City centre will be taken over by hundreds of people taking part in YMCA Exeter’s Sleep Easy Challenge. Participants will spend the night in Exeter’s Guild Hall Shopping centre: Sleeping rough so that others don’t have to!

Did you know that 1 in 18 young people experience homelessness every year?
Sponsored by Warwick Event Services, Sleep Easy 2015 seeks to surpass the £25,000 raised in 2014 - money that will provide crucial accommodation and support for homeless young people throughout Exeter.

Participants will be treated to a fun-filled evening of live music and entertainment, before settling down for the night under the stars, providing each individual with a deeper insight into the harsh realities faced by homeless young people in the city.

University of Exeter student, Harry Good, who participated in Sleep Easy 2014, strongly recommends that members of the public sign up for what he described as an “eye-opening” event. “Sleep Easy was a poignant evening for me. Whilst I enjoyed the adventure with my friends, I found the practicalities of trying to sleep outside on the street staggeringly difficult. I can’t imagine having to live like this night after night.”

As a result of the large demands among students to participate in this event, student fundraising group Exeter RAG are pioneering their own Sleep Easy event on Saturday 7th March on the University’s Streatham Campus, also sponsored by Warwick Event Services.

David Warwick, Managing Director of the event design, build and management company said, “Warwick Event Services have taken the opportunity to support YMCA Exeter and specifically the Sleep Easy event because we believe that it is a tragedy in this modern society that anyone should not have a safe home and a warm, dry bed for the night. We believe that the business community of Exeter has a responsibility to help and can make a real and long lasting difference”.

YMCA Exeter would like to invite anyone interested to grab a sleeping bag and take part in Sleep Easy 2015, helping the charity to “transform the lives of some our community’s most vulnerable members”.

For more information or to register your place on this unique challenge, go to: www.sleepeasyexeter.org.uk