100 members of Oundle School’s Community Action programme experienced a little bit of what it is like to be homeless by sleeping rough in Birmingham for a night. The pupils were only given cardboard boxes and a plastic survival bag in which they were told to make themselves as comfortable as possible on the surface of the concrete car park at St. Basil’s Centre for the Homeless.

 The pupils arrived in high spirits on a mercifully sunny evening. A huge scramble for the cardboard followed and everyone soon got to work on creating their home for the night using odd bits of string and sticky tape. There was a feeling of excitement in the air as this was a new experience to many of the pupils.

 After warming up with hot chocolate and bacon sandwiches, the pupils gathered in the St Basil’s chapel for an inspiring and very thought-provoking talk by three members of the Youth Advisory Board. All three had fallen victim to homelessness at some point in their life, but had been rescued by the work of St. Basil’s.

 There were songs around the campfire until the early morning, when pupils finally bedded down for a few hours sleep in the boxes.

The sleep out was primarily intended to raise money for the St. Basil’s Centre, which has to raise £2000 per day just to continue offering accommodation. The experience was also meant to give pupils a better understanding of the issues that surround youth homelessness.

St. Basil’s Centre for the homeless provides supported accommodation for young people aged 16 to 25, as well as a range of support services including housing aid and advice, family mediation and education schemes, including a life skills course. St. Basil’s aim is that when the young people leave the centre, they can move on with their lives in a planned and successful way and be able to maintain their own tenancy or private accommodation.

The experience of sleeping rough amidst the noise of Birmingham and listening to those who have themselves been homeless was eye opening for all the pupils involved, and it made them truly admire the work of St Basil’s.