A Sleep Out for World Homeless Day

There seems to be a burgeoning range of international days throughout the year designated to raise awareness of all manner of causes and initiatives. Many of these are accompanied by suggested activities, often with a fundraising scope, linked to the theme of the day. I am by nature susceptible to the lure of these. In some cases this is a matter of rather frivolous activities in support of frivolous causes. My colleagues have learnt to dread the approach of International Talk Like a Pirate Day. In other cases it is a matter of frivolous activities to support great causes. I happily donned a black foam nose last month to highlight the work of the Wetnose Animal Aid charity in supporting animal rescue centres. But sometimes not only is the cause itself a great one, but the activity to support it brings you a little closer to an understanding of the reasons why the initiative is so important. So it was for me this year on World Homeless Day.

World Homeless Day is marked on 10 October each year, to draw attention to the needs of homeless people. I was invited by the Bucharest-based charity Casa Ioana to join a sleep out on the Friday night ahead of the day to highlight the situation of the homeless in Bucharest. Casa Ioana, run by an inspirational former British policeman named Ian Tilling, targets problems of domestic abuse and family homelessness through an integrated approach, working with individuals over an extended period, rather than simply focusing on providing emergency shelter.

Friday dawned bright, but the clouds gathered through the day, and by mid-evening, as I prepared for the sleep out, rain was falling with ominous persistence. The venue was the slightly incongruous one of the cobbled courtyard of the Share Cafe, itself a fine venture which provides jobs for members of vulnerable groups, and which came to the aid of Casa Ioana when permission to hold the event on a public square was not forthcoming. Twenty-four volunteers gathered at ten in the evening. My fellow sleepers included Nigel Bellingham, Director of the British Council in Romania, together with his wife and their dog Billy. Adina Stanciu, one of the excellent interns who provide such a vital contribution to the work of the Embassy. A group from the British School of Bucharest. And three enterprising young employees at Oracle, who had persuaded their company management to contribute mats and sleeping bags for the event, which would be donated to homeless people afterwards.

Arriving at the designated time, I wondered how the event would actually work. The courtyard of the cafe looked like, well, a cafe courtyard, with tables from which the last beer glasses were just being cleared. But we were then instructed to take the tables into the cafe, and to place a large plastic sheet over the cold and damp cobbles. Cardboard followed, and we had a base on which our sleeping bags could be rolled out.

Of course this in no sense gave an accurate view of the challenges faced on a daily basis by homeless people. Our sleeping bags were new and warm, a canvas awning provided welcome protection from the rain, and as a large group in the secluded courtyard of a cafe we faced none of the problems of security which are such a constant battle for so many homeless people around the world. The sense of unreality was magnified by the appearance of several film crews: while providing welcome publicity for the event, it was somewhat surreal to give interviews from a sleeping bag.

Sleep was difficult: the lights of the camera crews departed, but the security lights of the cafe were with us all night. The placid presence of Billy at the heart of the group was soothing, and served as a demonstration of why dogs are so important to the lives of many homeless people, as a source of both security and support.

At six in the morning we packed up and returned to warm houses and hot breakfasts, all just a little more aware about the resilience of the world’s homeless people and the importance of all measures which can help to improve their lives and situations.