Mayor and Deputy Mayor to sleep out in aid of homeless charity
St Albans Mayor Councillor Anthony Rowlands is to experience life as a rough sleeper to raise money for the Open Door homeless charity.
He will be joined by Deputy Mayor Cllr Josie Madoc at the annual St Albans Sleepout at Oaklands College on Friday 10 November.
They will sleep out in the cold along with other fund raisers from 9pm right through the night until 7am the following day.
The sleepout benefits four other local charities: Herts Young Homeless, Centre 33, Emmaus and The Living Room.
It has been running for almost 30 years and has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds while increasing awareness of the challenges faced by those without a permanent home.
Cllr Rowlands, Mayor of St Albans City and District, will donate any funds that he raises to Open Door, a night shelter and drop-in service for vulnerable people based in the City Centre.
Anyone who wishes to make a donation can do so here.
Cllr Rowlands said:
I'm proud to be taking part in the sleepout and supporting such a good and valuable cause. It fits in with the inclusive theme of my year in office which is All Ages Together.
I'm hoping the event will highlight the plight of people who will be living on our streets this winter as well as raise money for the local charities which are trying to help them.
Deputy Mayor Madoc said:
We want to reach out to everyone in our community and I'm sure this event will give us an insight into the lives of homeless people and the challenging living conditions that they endure.
Our vision is to make sure no one needs to sleep rough in St Albans and we would ask people to donate what they can afford to help make this happen.
You can find more information about the sleepout at https://www.stalbanssleepout.org.uk/.
Picture: The Mayor, Cllr Anthony Rowlands, left, and Deputy Mayor, Cllr Josie Madoc, prepare for the sleepout.
Media contact: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer: 01727 819533, john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.