Trinity Winchester’s Big Sleep Out on 16th May saw 160 individuals sleep out in the iconic grounds of Winchester Cathedral, alongside hundreds of attendees, to show their support for Trinity’s services for those experiencing the effects of homelessness and vulnerability.

The headline sponsors for the event were Appledown Projects. Entertainment was provided by Integr8 Dance, The Diva Academy, The Rock Choir, Boru Beats and 5hades of Grey. Delicious food was enjoyed by all from Arty Stan Pizza, The Hursley High Class Butcher, Trinity Treats homemade baked goods, and Lane Clark and Peacock attracted a crowd with their popular sweets stall. The wellbeing area this year included reflexology by Rachel from Rflxlgy, reiki by Paula from Reiki and Restore and hair braiding courtesy of Urban Green. Draper Tools, Embers Bushcraft and Pitter Self Drive also supported the event, and prizes were donated by Clue Capers, Everyman Cinema, B Outside Forest School and Nandos. The bedtime story was read by well-known actress Sarah Parish. The Mayor of Winchester, Sudhakar Achwal, The High Sheriff of Hampshire, Sue Elton and Simon Tufnell DL were placed to judge the Shelter Build Competition. Sue Elton, said ““There was an amazing atmosphere and some very creative buildings of shelters but at the forefront was the need to raise money to help address homelessness.”

Sue McKenna, Trinity’s Chief Executive, said “We are astounded and grateful to the hundreds of people who made this a momentous event. Trinity is seeing more clients than ever, and we will be able to put these funds back into our services to help those most in need. We are focused on preventing homelessness and ending the need to sleep on the streets. This is not an experience of being homeless, we cannot imagine the reality of sleeping rough as we will return to the comfort of our homes the following morning. We were humbled by huge fundraising efforts from our participants and so far, the event has generated an incredible £44,000 towards our vital services”.