This week, there will be more people sleeping rough on the streets of Leeds.
On Thursday, hundreds of people from all over Leeds will be sleeping outside the Civic Hall for one night, all in a bid to raise awareness for the city’s homeless.
Starting at 7pm, the annual event is put together by the charity Simon On The Street.
Simon On The Street is dedicated to helping the homeless in Leeds and Bradford by raising awareness, providing emotional support and helping people get in contact with emergency accommodation.
Last years edition of the event saw over 100 people participate, with more than £50,000 raised and given to homelessness charities in Leeds.
However, the main premise of the night is for those participating to experience what it is like to sleep rough on a cold October night.
According to gov.uk, through March 2025 it was estimated that 7,718 people were sleeping rough throughout the U.K.
That is a 5% increase from the same period last year.
In addition to this, 36% of those people were new to sleeping on the street.
Shelley Joyce, of Shelter England, thinks the figures are an accurate representation.
“In Leeds we started doing a Thursday night outreach almost nine years ago, going out every Thursday. We have noticed a substantial increase in numbers over the last few months.”
“There just isn’t the right amount of housing or ongoing support to cope with the need at the moment. The council are inundated with requests from homeless people but they have to prioritise clients due to their need and emergency.”
“It is a growing concern of ours the number of people we are seeing who aren’t getting the help they need. And with the cold weather approaching this only exacerbates the need for help.”
Shelter England estimates that there are currently 354,000 people without a home, with 326,000 currently in temporary accommodation – a 17% increase in just one year.
Ms Shelley believes more is needed be done to fix figures like these.
“We believe prevention is easier than the cure.”
“As well as the Thursday night outreach in the city centre handing out clothes, food, toiletries and sleeping bags we also help clients once they are in a property. We help with fuel vouchers, food parcels and dentist appointment. We also have well-being classes at our support centre on a Friday.
“We started the foodbank side of things during lockdown, we were supporting about 8 families and now we have 923 families on our register and the numbers are increasing rapidly.”
The sleep out this week has a required donation of £30 and encourages anyone to participate, all for the greater goal of raising awareness for the homeless in Leeds.
“The sleep outs are a great idea. It isn’t just about raising money or providing food and support. A lot of what we do is about raising people’s awareness of the housing situation and changing people’s stereotypes on homeless people.”
“Everyone has a different story and reason behind the situation they are in. We ask people to just show a bit of kindness.”
If you or anyone you know is in an emergency accommodation situation, please call 0113 378 8366
And to participate in Thursday’s sleep out, click here.
