Sleep under stars to raise funds for homeless

Even with the 50-odd night shelters run by the Greater Chennai Corporation for the homeless, many still lead their lives on the city’s streets, braving cold nights. A hot meal, a bath, and a roof over their heads remain unaffordable for hundreds of people. Around the world, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme estimates that over 100 million people have no housing at all, and that a whopping 1.1 billion people are living in inadequate housing facilities. Aiming to raise funds for the homeless and displaced persons around the world, the World’s Big Sleep Out will be held on December 7 across 60 cities, including Chennai. The event will include thousands of people sleeping out under the open sky. 

The World’s Big Sleep Out campaign has been founded by Josh Littlejohn, the co-founder of Scotland-based charity Social Bite, which provides free food and employment opportunities to the homeless. The sleep out in the city is being held along with city-based NGO The Banyan, which has been working with homeless people, addressing their mental health and other issues related to their livelihood. “Participants have to register on World’s Big Sleep Out website, and 50 per cent of the funds raised will be donated to The Banyan,” says Preetha Krishnadas, the assistant director for The Banyan’s urban mental health programme. The remaining 50 per cent of the funds collected will go to the campaign organisers. 

“For the past 25 years, The Banyan has been working with the homeless with respect to their mental health, employment and livelihood issues. So, The Banyan has taken the onus of hosting the event to raise funds for the homeless. We expect at least 1,000 people to sleep on the Elliot’s Beach, on the pavements, as part of the event. Between 7 pm and 10 pm, there will be cultural activities by the Pioneer Music Gym, performances by dance troupe Indisha Fine Arts and students from Loyola College, Presidency College, and the Banyan Academy of Mental Health (BALM),” R Keerthana, a social worker with The Banyan, part of the event’s organising team, tells us. 

The gathering will also have homeless persons from the city sharing their stories. “While the World’s Big Sleep Out involves spending a night under the stars, it is not about pretending to be homeless. It’s an act of solidarity — to give you a tiny insight into this reality, and to raise the funds and awareness needed to help people who have no other choice,” the campaign’s founder Josh says on the event website. 

“The event will help people understand that one cannot help the homeless just by giving them money. The sleep out is a chance to listen to their plight,” says Keerthana. The sleep out, which is being supported by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai’s Malala Fund and UNICEF USA, will also see popular actors like Dame Helen Mirren and Will Smith, singers like Ellie Goulding and Travis sharing bedtime stories and lullabies with those sleeping out. A total of 50,000 people in cities like London, New York, Chicago, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Manila etc., hope to raise $50 million collectively through the campaign.