“Our numbers have increased by 1,500 people. God knows how many it will be next year.”
On a chilly September night, hundreds of people will swap their warm beds for a night on the cold ground, with only sleeping bags, cardboard boxes, and woolly jumpers for comfort. The annual Liverpool Sleepout, organised by the Whitechapel Centre, celebrates its 10th birthday this month – a full decade of raising money for the city’s most vulnerable homeless people.
Since its beginning in 2014, the event has attracted thousands of participants, who raise on average an incredible £30,000 each year. This year’s Sleepout will be held on Friday, September 27, in the churchyard of St James in the City, Toxteth, where brave volunteers will shiver under the stars.
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Whitechapel Centre community fundraiser Toni Murphy-Roberts said: “It’s an event that will give people an idea of what it is like, for one night, to be homeless, to face the vulnerability homeless people face every night. It means that we can carry on as a charity and don’t have to cut back on any of the crucial services we provide.”
Every penny raised by volunteers is sent to the Whitechapel Centre, the leading homeless charity for the Liverpool region, which matches each £1 donation with 90p. The organisation must raise around £1m per year to keep its services afloat – and with the cost of living ever increasing, so too is the number of people the charity sees entering its doors.
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Toni said: “The Whitechapel Centre has expanded over the years just because our services have been used a lot more. The amount of people we’re seeing compared to 10 years ago has doubled. So as the charity gets bigger and we’re getting more services to support more people the cost of funding is ever increasing too.”
The charity primarily tends to rough sleepers in Liverpool, providing them with food, warm clothes, and temporary accommodation in hostels, shelters, or hotels. It also provides housing advice to people who may be in danger of becoming homeless due to eviction or rising rent costs.
Toni said: “We’ve got three adult hostels and two family centres supporting homeless families. Combined, these two centres support about 50 families, and each family can range from two to seven people.
“We’ve also got a hospital team to go into hospitals around Liverpool to help prevent bed blocking and make sure people who are homeless and going into hospital have somewhere to go when they come out. Last year we supported nearly 5,000 people. That’s people who are rough sleeping, or people who have used our services in any other way.”
According to Crisis, the national charity for people experiencing homelessness, the number of people sleeping rough in England increased by 61% between 2013 and 2023. In 2023 alone, an estimated 3,898 people were sleeping rough – an increase of 27% on the previous year.
Government figures also showed homelessness was on the rise among women, with numbers jumping from 464 in 2022 to 568 last year – a rise of 22%. But the charity said the official numbers formed only part of a much wider picture, as they said: “Due to the way the rough sleeping count is conducted. these figures are likely to be an underestimate as people sleeping in hidden locations, such as on public transport, are likely to be missed.”
Toni said: “”I started working at the Whitechapel Centre nearly three years ago, and since I started the numbers have increased by 1,500 people. God knows how many it will be next year. It’s needed now more than ever. The housing crisis is the worst it has ever been.”
The Whitechapel Centre’s outreach teams cover the city region and are out on the streets from early morning to late at night, supporting people who are sleeping rough and responding to calls from the public to the Always Help Available 24-hour phone line on 0300 123 2041.
To sign up for the Liverpool Sleepout on September 27, visit The Whitechapel Centre website. Participants must be age 18 or over and sign up in advance. The registration fee is £10 per person and all participants are asked to raise sponsorship for The Whitechapel Centre. You can register as an individual or team.
