Building Careers, Sleep Out with Nugent

On Tuesday, April 16^th, Nugent hosted their annual Sleep Out Event, sponsored by Krol Corlett.

This is where a group of volunteers, many from across the construction and social housing industry, aims to raise awareness, funds, and support for the homelessness epidemic that is gripping the North West and increasing rapidly.

Building Careers' very own Alicia Brown, Richard Bancroft, Jack Kehoe, along with my self, Kayleigh Fox, all generously gave up their warm beds for the night to participate in the sleep out and raise awareness and understanding of the challenges that those experiencing homelessness have to face on a daily and nightly basis.

At around 6:30pm, we arrived in Liverpool outside the Maritime Museum, to begin the night of sleeping rough. Looking at our sleeping quarters for the night, I wasn’t sure I’d do it, but I was eager to complete the challenge and I’m glad I did, despite how hard it was.

The evening began with a touching story shared by a formerly homeless person. His story was one of resilience and struggle, highlighting the countless factors that can lead to homelessness. From escaping domestic violence to aging out of the care system, his journey stressed the complex and often overlooked reasons behind homelessness that can be overlooked by society. Homelessness knows no bounds –it can affect anyone, regardless of background or circumstance.

Afterwards, we took part in shelter-building competitions along with meditation sessions to help keep our spirits high as we prepared for the rough sleep we had yet to face. At around 10:30pm, we got ourselves wrapped up in multiple layers of warm clothes and hopped into our sleeping bags for the night as we attempted to switch off. But unfortunately, we found that sleep was much easier said than done on the streets of Liverpool.

Keeping the team updated on our well-being throughout the night, each of us reported having freezing cold feet and wildly disturbed sleep as the city of Liverpool met us with biting gusts of wind and bitter temperatures, along with the sound of police sirens and seagulls keeping us awake throughout the night.

Just before midnight, Alicia checked in saying, "I can't feel my toes so far and it's only 11pm To say this is overwhelming is an understatement. Listening to real stories of why people end up homeless is heart breaking."

Every time we managed to get even a wink of sleep, we would be woken back up not long after by the elements, daring to open our eyes and find that the sky was still dark, and it wasn’t yet time to go home on multiple occasions. Every one of us takes our warm beds and four walls for granted until we are faced with a night of sleeping outdoors.

As a group of rough-sleeping volunteers each of us had a bed to look forward to as soon as we got back home - a huge privilege that we all underappreciated.

It was hard but we gained invaluable insights. We glimpsed just a fraction of the challenges endured by the homeless every day. The thought of enduring these conditions in definitely was sobering.

The statistics speak volumes—homelessness in the UK rose by 27% in 2023 alone. But beyond the numbers lie real stories of hardship and resilience. Nugent's tireless efforts to combat homelessness provide a beacon of hope for those in need.

Our experience reaffirmed the importance of initiatives like Sleep Out with Nugent. By raising funds and awareness, we can make a tangible difference in the lives of those facing homelessness.

As of now, Nugent has raised an impressive total of nearly £8,500 to tackle homelessness, with hopes to raise even more to support as many people in need as possible.

Every donation ,no matter how small, contributes to vital services and support for the most vulnerable members of our community. If you would like to make a donation yourselves use the link below to direct you to our Just Giving page, where all money that is donated will support Nugent in tackling the homelessness crisis.

Building Careers is fundraising for Nugent Care 2019 (justgiving.com)

Thank you to Nugent for hosting such an amazing event, and to the Maritime Museum for volunteering their space for us to sleep out in. And thank you to everyone who supported us in this endeavour. Your generosity and compassion make a world of difference.

If you would like to read up more on Nugent go to their website Caring for, educating, protecting and inspiring those in need, since 1881 - Nugent (wearenugent.org) to find out more.

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