Me in rough-sleepout gear (looking a little like a Jedi Knight.
The flash looks like Iron Man's chest piece.)
Sleeping rough has been something I've wanted to try for a while and, with the nationwide YMCA Sleep Easy event ("sleeping rough so others don't have to"), I got my chance, if only for just one night. YMCA Norfolk's Sleep Easy (go here for the official write-up) took place on a cold, frosty winter's evening in the car park at the back of the YM's main accommodation in Norwich city centre, which provides board and lodging to 75 young men. Our event was to raise awareness about homelessness (we had visits from local media at the start and end of the evening), as well as raise money for a new £4.2 million block of flats to replace the current one, which has been declared 'Not Fit For Purpose'.
Twenty-one of us congregated in the car park from 7:30pm onwards and, following a short prayer to kick things off from Tim Sweeting, YMCA Norfolk's Chief Executive, we all set about building our own cardboard shelters, with the best one earning a prize (chocolates, I think?) My shelter was rubbish, so I didn't stand a chance. Others resembled miniature apartments. Initially, I opted to build my shelter between two of the large red rubbish bins underneath the stone stairs, thinking this would be a nice, sheltered spot. I was warned that rats lurked there, so I decided to move further round. Later, a YMCA chef whom, from his accent, I assumed hailed from Italy made a last minute decision to join us after his shift ended and took shelter between the bins. Various irritated yelps in his native language indicated he had met the rats.
The cardboard arrives
(webcam on balcony upper right of bright light)
People preparing their shelters
(mine is the one with the red and white bag at the bottom of it.)
To add to the authenticity of the homeless experience (!), there was a webcam set up overlooking the carpark so people at home could watch us all milling about or trying to sleep, if the mood took them (I guess this is the equivalent of CCTV for a regular homeless person?) At various points throughout the evening prior to our bedding down, pretty much everyone got on their mobile to friends and/or family and stood before the hallowed camera, waving frantically whilst crying out things like "can you see me, yet, Mum?!"
If viewers did want to use the webcam, they had to wait until 9pm until it was working properly and then they still had to enter a password and queue up to be one of the lucky ten people allowed to view it at any one time. Their chances would not have been helped by the fact that several of us were using our internet-capable phones to vainly watch ourselves on the webcam standing there observing ourselves being all brave for the homeless. "Will this cause some kind of feedback?" I jokingly wondered aloud as I watched the rather blurry live webcam feed on someone's iPhone (just able to make out the red on my shoes).What if standing too close to the webcam that was viewing us, whilst viewing it on a phone, caused a deadly loop and both devices exploded, thus spoiling everyone's fun? "No, it won't", I was told in a serious manner by someone clearly more technically savvy than me.
Some people found webcam joy, whilst others had visits from friends and family throughout the night. I was disappointed that none of mine contacted or visited me. Alright, so I hadn't asked them to but most of my friends and family knew I was doing this and had sponsored me, so it would've been nice but, hey, I guess it added to the homeless experience - how many proper street sleepers get visits from loved ones? This event was all about raising awareness of them. Still, toward the night's end and the following morning, I found myself getting morose about no one calling or visiting, as if they didn't care. It was just one night, after all and perhaps I just wanted someone to visit and confirm my heroism, which was selfish but otherwise, just having that moral support during the event would have been appreciated.
"THIS IS NOT ROUGH SLEEPING"
If the cold weather got too much, there was a room reserved for Easy Sleepers to kip in. Inside was a flipchart with the warning, 'THIS IS NOT ROUGH SLEEPING', even though the hot drinks, etc made the 'rough' aspect of the whole night fairly easy. A friend and ex-homeless man from my church told me that one night's sleeping out with other people, on-tap hot drinks and a webcam doesn't compare to proper rough-sleeping, as he did when he spent three months alone in a tent on Mousehold heath, where paranoia over every sound he heard haunted his every step. Yet, the Sleep Easy was more to do with gaining publicity for the issue of homelessness (occuring as it did at the start of Poverty & Homelessness Action Week) rather than truly emulating homelessness. In any case, not many people who have a home to go to would choose to sleep out in such weather as we did, which, if you're actually homeless, could surely be the death of you, eventually. One night in the cold was enough to get some idea of the physical aspect of being a rough sleeper.
TOP: 'Mama' and Denise snuggle down together.
BOTTOM: Elly and Becky get warm (I think they won the Best Shelter award?)
TOP: Frosty campsheet BOTTOM: In my sleeping bag
TOP: Shot of YMCA sign from my bag
BOTTOM: Two Easy Sleepers on the stairs overlooking Bethel Street
I spent a couple of fairly warm hours in my bag, listening to relaxing music and ignoring the ambient sounds of talking, footsteps and rustling cardboard and plastic. Eventually, despite all my protection, the cold still got too much and I had to go to the loo, after which, I got a hot drink (ensuring I'd probably need the loo again sooner or later) and stood talking to two or three other restless people. One of them, a Street Pastor (I can't remember his name), had had his rather nice cardboard shelter accidentally demolished by a clumsy late-night reveller who, whilst walking past the Sleep Easy, had drunkenly slipped on an ice patch and plunged right into the poor Pastor's shelter, which also housed two other Easy Sleepers. They presumably all used separate sleeping bags.
The Pastor spent the rest of the night kindly looking after other people and gave me a bright, shiny survival blanket to help keep me warm. He tucked it round me when I attempted to get back to sleep again. I felt like I was Bear Grylls on some adventure, except if I had been him, I probably would also have been naked, or something, to make it even more challenging. I wasn't naked but I was still damn cold. Someone said that, at its lowest, the temperature was minus 4 degrees that night.
A guide dog
The Street Pastor had a rougher time of it than anyone else as, not only was his shelter ruined, but he also had to contend with a a rather protective dog that belonged to one lady who joined us. Whilst bending down to pick up something near her, the dog leapt up and bit the Pastor, who steered well clear of the moody mutt thereafter. I had met the dog earlier in the evening and it seemed fine then but didn't endear itself to me by growling for most of the night once we were all bedded down. Whether this was because of the presence of the Street Pastor or the cold, I couldn't be sure but I didn't really want to go near it to find out. The guide dog above, belonging to YMCA trustee Simon Stokes, was much better behaved.
TOP: Car park after the Sleep Easy ended
BOTTOM: Bethel Street at 7:30 AM
Finally, morning came and I hadn't slept a wink. Well, I think I dozed for a while but that's about it. I was glad to hear I wasn't the only one as we all packed up our things, the headed in to YMCA canteen for bacon butties.
Afterwards, at around 7:30 AM, Susie had us all wave at the webcam to round off the event (I doubt anyone was watching, maybe it was being recorded?) and almost everyone went home to their beds. I stuck around, not quite sure whether to hang on for the bus home at 8:55, go to church, or call my Dad to come and pick me up. I opted to stay at the YMCA a bit longer and hang out with all the boys. I joined Adrian, a YMCA resident - the only one to take part in the Sleep Easy - for more breakfast.
As I drank coffee and watched the other residents drifting in to eat their food at separate tables before leaving again, I reflected that the YMCA didn't seem as joyous a place as the Village People's song made out. Between leaving home and gaining a council flat, a friend of mine spent a short time living at the YMCA, where he was friendly to the other lads but kept himself to himself. It seemed that most of the other guys had the same idea, generally. It seems that one can't really 'hang out with all the boys' if they don't want to hang out with one. Adrian revealed that the Sleep Easy hadn't aroused much interest amongst other residents, who hadn't given him much support in doing it.
I had never been in the YMCA before the Sleep Easy and had often regarded some of the characters that I saw hanging out by the entrance with trepidation. In the canteen, it was easy to judge them by appearance but then, after a sleepless night out in the cold, I probably looked a lot worse. Most of them probably had not had to sleep rough, lately, thanks to the YMCA giving them a roof but come pretty close. I may not have whatever 'issues' they may be struggling with but like most of them, I assume, I'm 'between jobs' (as they say), on benefits and looking for a place of my own. I can't say that I now understand how tough life is and has been for these men (and rough-sleepers) but the whole Sleep Easy experience made me think how easy it could be for me to end up in their situation. It's said that most people are only two pay cheques away from becoming homeless. Along with countless others, I currently survive on benefits, so thank God for the welfare state.
It's been two weeks since I slept rough, my sponsorship money has been counted up and (mostly) handed in, all £291 of it (so far). Thank you to all who sponsored and encouraged me for the YMCA Sleep Easy, you can still do so here and I hope you'll do the same, or even join me, if I do it again in 2011 and beyond.
Please leave a comment or two below to let me know what you think!
