A number of enthusiastic Wolverhampton students braved the cold weather and took part in the ‘Sleep Easy’ campaign last Friday night, to raise money in changing the lives of young homeless people in the Black Country.

Sleep Easy is a national event which sees hundreds of people from up and down the country giving up their TOG rated duvets to help change the lives of homeless young people in their communities. Sixth Form students at St Edmund’s Catholic Academy in Wolverhampton prepared themselves to spend their Friday night sleeping in a cardboard box.

Every night, YMCA Black Country Group provides support and shelter for over 300 homeless young people across the Black Country and Staffordshire border area in addition to family mediation, substance misuse support and other services in order to prevent homelessness occurring in the first place.

St Edmund’s Catholic Academy are hoping to raise around £200 for the Moving Forward Fund which enables these young people to move on in their lives, by providing not only the practical things that make a house a home but also accessing employment and training opportunities, as well as providing them with much needed emotional support.

The campaign took place at St Edmund’s Catholic Academy, on Friday 11th March from 6pm – 6am, with a soup kitchen provided by the YMCA and an inspirational speech from  ‘Chedene’, who was previously homeless but had her life turned around with the help of the charity.

St Edmund’s would like to say a very big thank you to all the students who took part in such a worthy cause, Wolf Mountain for entertaining our students for part of the night and most importantly to Mr Bentley, Mrs Wrenshall-Jones and Mr Auger, for giving up their well-earned, comfortable Friday night to accompany the students. This type of event just couldn’t go ahead without the good will and support of our fantastic staff.