BIG Sleep at Salisbury Cathedral reaches new heights

Tuesday, 31 January 2023 00:00

The annual Alabaré BIG Sleep at Salisbury Cathedral is back on Friday, 10th March!

This year the event marks the heady heights of its 15th year, and the Salisbury-based charity is hoping that more people than ever will come and join their flagship sleep out in the cloisters of the iconic Cathedral.

Every year Alabaré ask members of the local community to come together to raise sponsorship by spending the night sleeping on the cold, hard floor of the Cathedral cloisters to raise vital funds and awareness of the issue of homelessness.

All the funds raised from the event will go to Alabaré’s Somewhere to Go project in Salisbury, which provides drop-in support and advice to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The service is open six days a week and enables people to receive a hot meal, shower, and help to access accommodation or the further support they need. For many people, it is a lifeline.

The BIG Sleep at Salisbury Cathedral provides the opportunity to learn more about Alabaré’s work and hear from some of the people who have benefited from the charity's support through its 78 homes and services across the south west.

Rebecca Mullen, Alabaré Events Manager, says: “Our BIG Sleep at Salisbury Cathedral again promises to be a powerful, reflective, and yet humbling experience as you bed down for the night, as others who are homeless do every night. For you, it will be just one night; in the morning, you can return to your warm home and comfortable bed.

“We are acutely aware of the mental and physical health pressures on those who are homeless or on the cusp of homelessness right now, and it is imperative that we can continue to provide this vital support. We rely on the generosity of our fantastic supporters to help us raise the funds we need.

We are joined by people from all walks of life – from young secondary pupils from local schools, corporates that come year after year, through to die-hards, some of whom are over eighty, they feel a real pride in the difference their one night of compassion is having.”

“This is the 15th year we have slept out at Salisbury Cathedral – we hope that many local people will want to take part and help support others whose lives have been struck by hardship and crisis – as a community, we can all be there for one another.”

Alabaré is asking BIG sleepers to pledge to raise at least £100 per person in sponsorship or £50 for young people. If you would like to sign-up for the event, please go to www.alabare.co.uk