Several local councillors and our staff recently took part in the Reigate & Redhill YMCA SleepEasy in support of their campaign to raise awareness about the problems facing local people without a regular roof over their head.

Cardboard beds

Bedding down in cardboard boxes in the Town Hall car park, councillors Julian Ellacott, Mark Brunt, Lisa Brunt, Graeme Crome, Jonathan Essex and Frank Kelly were all relieved that the rain and snow kept away. It was however a very cold night with temperatures dipping to a chilly -5 degrees.

Under the stars

Housing Options Officer, Philippa Ibbotson, one of our Housing Officers, explained why she also chose to spend a night under the stars.

"Each night, YMCAs up and down the country provide rooms for around 7,000 young people who don’t have anywhere else to sleep. However this is only part of what they do. I agreed to sleep rough for one night so the YMCA can provide a whole range of support for children and young people, helping them to build a future."

Great success

Redhill and Reigate YMCA work closely with the council to help prevent homelessness for young people in this borough.

This event was hailed a great success and raised well over £2,000 - if you would like to find out more about what sleeping rough means or any of the other work the YMCA does please visit the YMCA website.