Sleep out for Goole’s homeless and vulnerable

Being homeless and sleeping rough can be a traumatising and dangerous experience. Unless you have experienced it first-hand, it is nearly impossible to understand what homeless people actually go through.

That’s why Our Goole was thrilled to hear that the people of Goole have been raising awareness and understanding by ditching their beds and spending a night on the streets.

On Friday, October 7, dozens of people took to the streets of Goole for a sleep-out which was organised by Gavin Broadhead who runs local group, ‘Helping Goole’s Most Vulnerable and Homeless’.

Gavin, 36, has lived in Goole all of his life and is a night duty officer at Goole YMCA. He told Our Goole: ‘YMCA provides incredible help to young people between the ages of 16 and 25, but I wanted to support people of all ages.

‘The group aims to point homeless and vulnerable people in the right direction to find a bed, food or any other services they require. I decided to start up the group one day after finishing my shift at YMCA. It was the day of the election and on my way home I passed two homeless people. It made me think – no matter who gets in power, these two people will still have nowhere to sleep tomorrow night. I thought that if I could help them at all then I would.

‘I took to the streets from 6am-6pm on the sleep-out with Mission Trinity volunteers, some YMCA residents and members of the public. Local businesses paid £20 to sponsor the sleep-out and we’re really thankful to them. Hopefully it can happen every year and more people will get involved.’