PEOPLE in the dale are being encouraged to sleep rough for one night in Barnard Castle to help raise awareness of youth homelessness.
YMCA Teesdale is hoping to encourage residents to brave the elements and sleep in St Mary’s Parish Church car park for the night on Friday, March 27.
This is part of the youth charity’s third Sleep Easy fundraiser which has raised about £3,500 in Teesdale since 2018.
YMCA Teesdale’s operations director, Rachel Dyne, will be marshalling the event.
She said: “The challenge is to try to sleep and spend the night homeless in a cardboard box. We are doing this to raise money for the youth work that we do in Teesdale.
“It also raises awareness of homelessness and specifically youth homelessness. Homelessness is having no fixed address. We don’t think of sofa surfing as being homeless.
“Although we don’t have a housing project, we work with young people who experience homelessness and who are sofa surfing and get them the help and support they need.”
Last year, 15 people took part in the challenge despite difficult conditions.
Ms Dyne said: “Last year at 4am we ended up pulling everyone in because the heavens opened.
“We are hoping to raise £2,000 this year which will pay for a lot of youth work as funding becomes hard to get hold of. We are also hoping for calm weather this year.”
Anyone interested in taking part must provide their own sleeping bag and cardboard box.
Food will be provided in the evening by Babul’s. A breakfast will also be on offer the next morning.
The event will start at 7pm. To register visit www.ymca
teesdale.org.uk or call 01833 695780.
