Every year people sign up to spend a night under the stars to try and understand what it’s like for those who are homeless.

Join us for one night outside with just cardboard and a sleeping bag between you and the concrete, experiencing what it’s like to get minimal sleep and 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.

Our autumn Big Sleep Out helps to prevent homelessness in winter months when rough sleeping becomes even more dangerous. 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.