My brother lived on the streets so it really COULD be you #ItCouldBeMe

This is a staggering statistic:

“Most of us are only three missed pay checks from homelessness.”

This isn’t the only stark reality about homelessness, which is why We are Trinity and The Big SleepOut is so important for 2015. Being homeless has touched my life, with my brother living on the streets for a number of months because of mental illness. We had no idea where he was. Thankfully, after much searching and heartache, my parents found him. You never think that you will be affected, but really you aren’t as far away from life on the street as you think.

It really could be you, or your family.

Sadly, there are many people who have to cope with the hardships of life on the streets in winter, and are not so lucky as to have someone looking for them, or a place to return to.

Events like The Big SleepOut, and wonderful charities such as We are Trinity try and help these people where they can:

• 40% of homelessness is caused by a relationship breakdown, whether that is within the family, with a spouse or even friends
• 3,000 people are living on the streets in the U.K. every night; struggling to stay warm and happy, while you are tucked up in your cosy beds
• A further 500,000 people are part of our hidden homeless – those that are in temporary accommodation, kipping on sofa’s or in dangerously over-crowded houses.

We are Trinity first organised The Big SleepOut in 2008 with 100 people sleeping rough overnight, this has grown to a massive 1,000 for this year’s event in Hillingdon on December 4th, 2015. All those people are giving up their time to raise awareness and money – so why not sign up to help out, or if you can donate to the charity to help them out.

You just don’t realise how tough it is out there until you stop and think, or even better, experience it for yourself. What are you going to do if it rains, and everything gets wet? How will you dry your stuff so you don’t freeze the following night? How will you cope when the nights turn colder and all you have is your sleeping bag for protection? Where can you go to feel safe? What are you going to do for food? The list of problems, and worries are endless for those spending their nights in cardboard boxes under the stars.

You can join in the social media campaign too by taking a photo of yourself with the #ItCouldBeMe hashtag and tweeting @TrinityHomeless – come on, lets make a different with The Big SleepOut in 2015.

40% of homelessness caused by relationship breakdown…so really could be YOU Help @TrinityHomeless Big SleepOut #ad pic.twitter.com/xNkbjWkZyY

— Helen Neale (@KiddyCharts) November 2, 2015

This is a sponsored post.

Helen

Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!

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