I swapped my bed for a night spent in a sleeping bag on the floor in London.
Last week I, alongside a number of colleagues, traded comfort for a campaign for change.
You can still support our cause by donating at justgiving.com/team/newsquestlondon
The sleep out was in solidarity of Centrepoint, the UK's leading youth homelessness charity, which supports young people between the ages of 16 and 25.
The charity, founded in London in December 1969, initially began as a shelter for young homeless people hosted in a church basement.
Its reach has since grown in response to ongoing youth homelessness, with Centrepoint now estimated to help more than 15,000 people a year work towards a more independent future.
It's important to note that the sleep out campaign does not aim to replicate homelessness, but instead to raise awareness for the ever-important social issue.
Our group settled down past midnight, rolling out mats and piling on extra layers of clothing to fight the cold.
One of the quiet privileges we at times forget is that of a warm bed, though for each of us that privilege was pulled into full focus as we slipped into our sleeping bags.
What we did have however, was the comfort of being safe in the knowledge that we had a home and bed to return to in the morning.
After what I think was a collective few hours of sleep between us, we woke up stiff, sore, and feeling sleep-deprived.
It was an uncomfortable night, but that was the key.
In the space of a year from 2024 to 2025, more than 118,000 young people faced homelessness.
That's on average one person every four minutes who is sleeping out not of their own choice, and are doing so without the preparation we were afforded.
That is why the work of Centrepoint is so crucial.
Thanks to kind donations, Newsquest London was able to raise nearly £2,500 to support Centrepoint's efforts as it works towards the goal to end youth homelessness by 2037.
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