Manchester is a wonderful city, a place I love dearly and I'm proud to call home. But Manchester, like many modern cities, is suffering from cuts to welfare, public services and a housing crisis.

This has led to an explosion in the number of homeless people in our city. These are people. People who once had jobs, families, friends and a roof over their heads. But something happened in their lives and they've been forced to exist on the streets. For every one of these cases, it could have been you or I. I won't eradicate what is a fundamental problem in first world countries. That's the government's job. Or at least it should be.

But if we can make this winter just a bit more comfortable for these unfortunate souls forced to live on the streets and let them know we will not forget or abandon them, then I will consider this little fundraiser a success.

We are raising money to buy 'comfort packs', that includes the essential items people need, socks, gloves, toothbrush, toothpaste and wet wipes. If we raise enough, hopefully we can also buy sleeping bags and other items to help get them through the winter.

We'll be doing a 24 hour podcast on the 7th of October, where we'll have various guests coming to explain how we can best help those in need on our streets. Please join us on that live broadcast, share it, and give what you can.