Jersey sleep out event raises £24,000 for homelessness charity

A charity sleep out has raised almost £24,000 to help tackle homelessness in Jersey.

Participants slept overnight with sleeping bags and pieces of cardboard on the 11th and 12th floors of the Pier Road car park in St Helier on Friday 22 November.

Around 120 fundraisers took part with all donations going to Sanctuary Trust.

The event aimed to raise awareness about the scale of homelessness in the Bailiwick as 1,000 islanders currently do not have a fixed home.

Chair of Sanctuary Trust Tim Ringsdore said: "Quite a large percentage of the population are really challenged with the economic situation and unfortunately we don't see this changing much in the near future.

"So the support that we get from the community is amazing and we just hope we can continue to get that support to provide our services in the future."

Deputy Sam Mézec was among the fundraisers. He said: "It's really important that we support Jersey charities and Sanctuary Trust in particular does an amazing job looking after homeless men helping them get back on their feet.

He added: "This year will be my third [sleep out] it is very unpleasant, very difficult, but it's great that so many people club together in this way.

"It demonstrates the best of Jersey community that people are doing this and raising lots of money to help Sanctuary Trust do the brilliant work that they do."

The oldest islander who took part in Friday's event was 75 years old, while the youngest was just 6.

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