The Big Sleep Out Returns To Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park!

The Big Sleep Out Returns To Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park!

For the second year in a row, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust will be working in collaboration with Nightsafe to host ‘The Big Sleep Out’ at Ewood Park on Friday 17th November.

This year, the Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen, Councillor Parwaiz Akhtar, will be participating in the 2023 Big Sleep Out, with the aim to raise awareness and highlight the important issues surrounding homelessness in the local area.

Participants will spend one night sleeping outside in the Riverside Stand at Ewood Park, and supporters, community organisations and local businesses are all encouraged to show their support and experience the difficulties homeless people go through each night.

The Riverside Stand will be open from Friday 17th November until Saturday 18th November. The age category to take part is 18 and over.

Participants or anyone who chooses to donate will be raising money for both Nightsafe and Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, to help support the important work both charities do towards helping many people within their community. 

“Both charities do a wonderful and incredible job to support our community. I have seen they have provided a number of activities for our community and they both do an excellent job in the sense that Nightsafe are providing accommodation, whereas Blackburn Rovers Community Trust is providing assistance in many different ways to so many people. It is important that we look at this problem with the number of people who are homeless. We have to work on helping people, and that is what Nightsafe and Blackburn Rovers Community Trust are doing.”

The Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen Council.

A donation of any size can go a long way in helping support. A donation of £2.50 would provide a meal at Nightsafe’s day centre for someone in need. A donation of £3 would provide a breakfast for a participant on Blackburn Rovers Community Trust’s Veterans programme.

“Nightsafe are once again delighted to be supported by Blackburn Rovers Community Trust in a jointly organised Sleep Out. We hope that businesses will support the event both individually and as teams to come and join in, in what is a wonderful heartfelt way to raise much-needed funds to enable Nightsafe to continue supporting young people who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Most of us have never experienced what it is to be homeless, our young people often describe it as ‘frightening and scary’ and we are proud of the support we are able to provide here at Nightsafe, this support is literally whatever a young person might need. The support, however, doesn’t come cheap – each year we face the challenge of ever-increasing costs and rely on the amazing donations of the public to meet the shortfall in funds to continue to provide this service. We would be so grateful if you could support us in any way by either sleeping out to raise funds or by making a donation.”

Jan Larkin, Nightsafe CEO

“We are proud to work in partnership with Nightsafe once again to host the Big Sleep 2023, at Ewood Park, to raise much-needed funds, which will go directly towards projects to tackle homelessness in Blackburn and other impactful programmes for the local community. This year, we will be sleeping pitch side, in front of the Riverside Stand, and I want to thank the football club for opening the doors of the stadium and supporting the event. The Big Sleep has always provided a community feeling, with people willing to give up the luxuries we take for granted for one night, to experience sleeping outside on a makeshift bed and open to the elements, which is sadly an unfortunate everyday occurrence for some people. “

Martin Winters, Head of Operations at Blackburn Rovers Community Trust