Step By Step’s Community Fundraiser, Sue O’Flinn, and Shots Chairman Shahid Azeem confirmed this week that, in five years of hosting the BIG Sleep Out on the terraces of the Electrical Services Stadium, Aldershot Town have helped the homeless charity raise £54,000.
This video looks at preparations for the night, the conditions sleepers experienced, and how the money raised helps local homeless people.
Shahid and Director Andy Muckett joined participants as young as three years-old in sleeping rough last month, uniting under the aim of “sleeping out so others don’t have to” to adorn the famous East Bank steps with an array of sleeping bags, blankets and their own unique ‘cardboard city’ creations to raise awareness of the problem of youth homelessness, and much needed funds for Step By Step’s training services. These services equip the young clients with the basic life skills required to live independently and help them gain employment or a place on a college course.
Even in a relatively affluent area, there are many young people from Surrey and Hampshire who are forced out of their homes by their parents, or who leave to protect their own well-being. For the past 21 years, Step by Step has provided a bed to sleep in, support and counselling to those people, with plenty of help so that they can pick up the pieces and move on with their lives. For further information, visit www.stepbystep.org.uk.
