WORKERS from an estate agents company in Coventry dumped the luxury of their own homes to sleep on the streets in their attempt to raise awareness of homelessness in the UK.
Staff from Fine & Country UK slept in the ruins of the Old Cathedral in cardboard boxes to raise money for the homeless charity St Basils.
Working with young people aged 16-25, St Basils helps over 4000 young people each year across the West Midlands region.
Offering a range of prevention, accommodation and support services, St Basils provide young people with the stability they need to rebuild their lives, gain skills, training and employment to help move on.
Sean, Tyler and Clint from Fine & Country made their living area for the night by constructing some cardboard boxes and plastic sheeting from the provisions they were given by the St Basils team.
Once their accommodation was set up, the trio met with other groups giving up their home comforts for the night to raise awareness of what it is like to sleep on the streets.
Clint Nykamp, partner at Fine & Country Coventry, said: “When we found out more about the charity we very quickly realised that this isn’t just a charity that helps young people off the streets.
“They source accommodation, put them into a youth program to teach them primarily life skills and even help them get into industries that they are keen, like a great music program that they run.
“We had the privilege of listening to two young people that are currently being helped by the charity.
“Without St Basils, they would have been left on the street, but now they are involved in programs and one of them was a leader within the group.
“This part of the night really hit home with us and we were even happier for supporting this wonderful charity.”
Clint mentioned that it was a sleepless night and everyone was awake by 5am.
He added: “At midnight it was time to settle in for the night and try and keep warm in our sleeping bags.
“However none of us minded as this was only a tiny taste of what people all around our country experience.”
Having raised over £700 already, the team are looking for more generous donations.
Visit https://www.justgiving.com/Clint-Nykamp1/ for more information.
