Every year people sign up to spend a night under the stars to try and understand what it is like for those who are homeless. With just cardboard and a sleeping bag between you and the concrete, experiencing what it’s like to get minimal sleep and be vulnerable to the elements, you quickly realise how cold it gets. At sunrise you’re awake and return to your everyday life after just one night sleeping out. Sadly for others the reality is very different... 

By hosting our event in the autumn, we are helping to prevent homelessness in winter months when rough sleeping becomes even more dangerous, sometimes fatal. In 2017, 120 'Big Sleepers' raised over £40,000 which was used by Launchpad to support some of Reading’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged people.

Homelessness is complicated and those sleeping rough are the tip of the iceberg, the hidden homeless include many single parents struggling to bring up their young children in unsuitable B&Bs and those sleeping on friends sofas night after night. 

This year's Big Sleep Out will run from Friday 31 August - Saturday 1 September, 7pm - 7am. The event will be held at Queen Anne’s School in Caversham.

Claire, who slept out last year said: 'Having had a great sleep in a comfortable bed, with crisp linen sheets and fluffy pillows I am reminded of the Big Sleep Out. A truly inspiring and worthwhile evening. I met some wonderful people, listened to some incredible stories of the harsh realities of sleeping rough. The Big Sleep Out was a small part towards addressing the homeless issues by raising money to support this incredible charity without whom the whole situation would be very different.’

If you can't join us this year, please donate and help us reach our target.