INTREPID members of Rugby Labour Women’s Network will be taking part in a sponsored sleep-out to highlight the issue of homelessness, and to raise funds for a charity which helps rough sleepers and poorly-housed people in the town.
Nine members of the network and three male Labour Councillors will join volunteers and supporters at the Sleep Out to Help Out event in Rugby town centre on February 24, raising money for the Hope4 charity.
Local Labour Party campaigner Louise Robinson, who is coordinating fund-raising for the group, said it was a daunting prospect.
She said: “Although some of us have experience of camping and hillwalking, I don’t think any of us has spent the night in a car park before!
“We want to do this to shine a light on how, for many homeless people, this is sadly the reality of their lives.
“The event will raise money for a fantastic local cause in Hope4, which works with local people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. It supports them in all aspects of life – providing somewhere to do washing, housing support, hot meals, an access point for services, debt advice, support applying for benefits, and courses to develop job related skills.
“We know it costs £500 a day to keep the service afloat, so we want to raise as much as we can to support it, as we believe everyone in Rugby deserves a shot at making a success of their lives.”
Coun Maggie O’Rourke, the Leader of the Labour Group on Rugby Borough Council who came up with the idea to get the women’s’ group involved, said: “Sleeping rough on the streets is a daunting prospect, but for us it’s a one off. For far too many in Rugby and in our society, this is reality.
“So, if we can do it for just one night to ensure there are proper support services for people in our local community then that’s a challenge I am willing to accept.
“Some people may think that homelessness only affects people who have lived a feckless life, but they are wrong. The 2020 ‘Insecure Britain’ survey found that most of us are only two-and-a-half paydays away from losing our home – and that was before the cost-of-living crisis.
“So it could be that even more people are at risk in 2023. Renters are even more insecure with landlords able to end tenancies after six months, without giving a reason and with only two months’ notice. How can that be fair?”
Visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/womensgroup-rugbylabour to sponsor the group.
Visit www.hope4.org.uk/sleep-out-to-help-out for more about the event and the work of Hope 4.
