This September I am taking part in the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, where I will be walking over 25 miles with 1585m of ascent to raise funds for Emmaus.

Emmaus are a charity supporting people in working their way out of homelessness, providing meaningful work as well as a stable home for as long as someone needs it.

A few months ago I visited one of the Emmaus communities, up in Mossley, and met some of the companions in the community who have been given a second chance in life by this amazing charity and was genuinely blown away by the great work they do.

There are so many shocking stats about homelessness, but here are just a few which help show why it is so important to support these life saving charities:

- The average age of death for people experiencing homelessness is 46 for men and 42 for women.

- People sleeping on the street are almost 17 times more likely to have been victims of violence.

- More than one in three people sleeping rough have been deliberately hit or kicked or experienced some other form of violence whilst homeless.

- Homeless people are over nine times more likely to take their own life than the general population.

Please help support Emmaus by donating whatever you can! :)