Streets of London Sleep-Out 2025

Join us on World Homeless Day at Streets of London's eighth annual sleep-out! Sleep out for one night and raise money to help people off the streets.

On Friday 10th October we'll be sleeping out in central London, in a safe and secure location. The money you raise by taking part will help to fund projects across the capital that offer vital immediate help to people who are sleeping rough, as well as longer-term specialist support so that they can escape the streets for good.

People taking part in last year's event raised an amazing £50,000 to help people experiencing homelessness, we're hoping to beat that total if we can!

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The number of people sleeping rough in London is at a record high and is now FIVE times the level it was twenty years ago, so help for people facing homelessness is needed more than ever right now.

Taking part in the sleep-out is nothing like the reality of being homeless of course. For a start, we’ll be sleeping in a safe place, with loos, and in the knowledge that we have a warm bed to return to in the morning and a shower if we want one.

Nevertheless, people coming to take part will experience for one night the discomfort of what’s it like to sleep outside on the ground, in all weathers. It's an eye-opening experience, a communal act of solidarity, and a tangible way to get involved if you'd like to do something to help.

All you'll need is a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat (or cardboard). If you'd like to, bring a group of family or friends to the event, so you can take part as a team and help raise even more for a great cause.

We encourage each participant to aim at raising £250 if they can, so that as many homeless people as possible receive support, but whatever you're able to raise in support of the charity will help and will be much appreciated.

The money you raise will help to fund life-changing support for people experiencing homelessness in the capital.

SIGN UP NOW to grab your place!

For further information about the event, explore the What To Expect & Why Take Part tabs at the top of this page. We hope you can join us!

Why Take Part?

By taking part, you'll be helping homeless people.

The cost-of-living crisis is pushing more and more people into homelessness, with rising prices forcing people who have never slept rough before onto the streets for the first time.

The money you raise will help to fund projects that provide life-changing advice and support to homeless people in London, empowering them to move on and make a fresh start away from the street.

The Sleep-out isn't just a 'challenge event', it's a meaningful experience too.

It's nothing like the reality of being homeless of course, but giving up the comfort of your bed for one night and sleeping out at the event is a simple act of solidarity and a chance to empathise with the position that homeless people are in. Most importantly, your fundraising makes a real difference to people's lives.

Here's what a couple of previous sleep-out participants have to say about it:

"Such an amazing thing to be part of each year and so humbling."

"It was cold and uncomfortable but very humbling and I'm so glad I did it. I would definitely do it again and encourage others to get involved. It really makes me appreciate all I have and inspires me to do more."

Homeless people need your help more than ever right now.

More than 13,000 people slept rough in London last year, a record number and FIVE times the level it was two decades ago. By taking part in the sleep-out, the money you raise will help more people get the support they need to find secure housing and escape homelessness for good.

People taking part in last year's sleep-out raised an amazing £50,000+, money that helped to fund several projects that provide vital services to people experiencing homelessness in the capital. With your help, we're hoping to raise even more this year.

SIGN UP HERE

For further information about the event, explore the What To Expect & Frequently Asked Questions tabs at the top of this page.

What To Expect On The Night

The 2025 Streets of London Sleep-Out will take place in central London on the night of Friday, 10th October. We’ll be sleeping out under the stars, in a safe and secure environment, to raise funds and awareness for people experiencing homelessness.

Location

The event will take place outdoors in the grounds of a private venue in central London, close to Waterloo Station. We’ll be in touch with participants in the run-up to the event to provide the exact details. There will be event security to keep everyone safe, and access to toilets.

Timings

Arrival will be between 8pm - 9pm on Friday 10th October.

You will have the option to come and hear from the charity about the projects we're currently supporting, and we hope to have a musician performing somewhere until about 10pm, to add a street busking feel!

Quiet/sleep time will be between 10pm and 6am. The event will finish at 6am on Saturday 11th October and people will depart by 7am.

What to bring

The only absolute essentials are a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat/roll-mat (or cardboard), but we would suggest bringing the following:

• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping mat (or cardboard)
• Plenty of warm clothes and water-proofs (to ensure you keep warm and dry)
• Hat & Gloves
• Torch
• Waterproof survival bag/bivvy bag (only for use in case of bad weather - will help to keep your sleeping bag dry)
• Umbrella
• Water bottle
• A sense of humour!

Please don't bring tents, alcohol, spray cans, stereos or anything that will disturb your fellow sleepers or any nearby residents - thanks.

Fundraising target and registration

To help cover essential event costs, there is a £9.50 registration fee (non-refundable).

We're holding the sleep-out to raise as much money as possible for the homelessness projects we support, so we ask each person taking part to raise money for Streets of London, to support the charity's work.

We encourage each participant to aim at raising £250 if they can, so that as many homeless people as possible receive support, but whatever you're able to raise in support of the charity will help and will be much appreciated.

Age restrictions

You will need to be at least 11 years old to take part in the event. Anyone under 18 will need to be accompanied by a responsible adult who is at least 21 years old, with a maximum of 3 under-18s per accompanying adult present.

Registration

All Sleep-Out participants will need to register for the event in advance. The number of places available is limited this year and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Registration will close at midnight on Monday 6th October (if there are any places remaining by then).

If you'd like to join us, click the link below to sign up now!

REGISTER NOW

For more information about the event, explore the Why Take Part & Frequently Asked Questions tabs at the top of this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Fundraising Tips

If you’re here, it means you’ve probably signed up for the Sleep-Out and are now thinking about how you can raise money that will help homeless people. Thank you!

There are lots of ways you can go about fundraising. Here are a few tips and ideas to spark your creativity and get you started...

Start by creating an online fundraising page

We recommend doing this as soon as you've registered for the event (you can always make any changes later if you need to).

You can set up a fundraising page quickly and easily at JustGiving. All donations come directly into Streets of London’s bank account and Gift Aid is added automatically.

By going through this special link, it will take you to a ready-made fundraising page that we've created for everyone on JustGiving, so that you don't have to create your page from scratch. It includes all the details about the sleep-out, links to the charity's profile and the event, and will automatically add however much you raise to the main event total. You can amend the page as you'd like.

Just click on this link and then log in or sign up: CREATE FUNDRAISING PAGE

If you don't have an account with JustGiving already, click the small blue 'Sign Up' button as circled in the screen-shot below. Once you've added a few details, it will take you through automatically to the ready-made page.

Suggestions for personalising your page:

• Add a little about why you’re taking part, to show it's coming from you. Why are you sleeping out? If you are passionate about it, this will come across when you ask people to hand over their cash!
• Feel free to include a link to the Projects page on our website, to show how your sponsorship will make a difference helping homeless people.
• You can change the cover picture if you'd like to - we've put the event poster there but feel free to replace it with another image if you'd like to.

Next, get the word out!

• E-mail - send an e-mail to your friends and family telling them what you'll be doing and why
• Social media - share the link to your fundraising page on social media to spread the word. Use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn etc to encourage friends to donate.
• WhatsApp - send a brief message with a link to your page.

A few top tips:

1. Get your most generous supporters to donate first, so others follow suit.
2. Use your contacts - family, friends, colleagues and clients can all donate! Tell everyone about it, don't be shy! It really is a numbers game so the more people you can reach, the better the chances of gaining sponsorship.
3. Be persistent - busy people won’t always get round to sponsoring you the first time you ask, so remind them what you’re doing and why. Don’t worry about sending a request more than once, it usually takes a couple of e-mails for people to take action.
4. Carry on up to and after the event - take photos at the sleep-out and post them to social media, and add an update to your JustGiving page after the sleep-out with how it went and a couple of photos.
5. Write about your experience afterwards - a big thank you email can generate more sponsorship.
6. Work signature - add your fundraising page and a brief message, so more people see it.
7. When you're e-mailing work colleagues to ask for sponsorship, try to time your e-mail to coincide with pay-day (cheeky but effective!)
8. Match funding - check if your employer will match the amount you raise. It's a quick and easy way to double your total.

Other ideas

As well as asking for sponsorship, there are lots of other ways you can boost your fundraising total. Here are a few:

• Pub quiz - Always a popular option. Give your friends a chance to show off their obscure knowledge.
• Organise a cake sale - get your friends to help with baking. Aim for a Friday when people are getting ready for the weekend.
• Host a film night - turn your house into a cinema for the night, and invite people to watch a film for a donation.
• Breakfast club - sell bacon rolls, croissants or pastries to your work colleagues.
• Hold a wine/beer/cheese tasting and sell tickets.
• Competition - run a sweepstake or maybe a pool competition.
• Car boot sale - have a clear out and add to your fundraising target by selling your items at a local car boot sale, or on eBay.
• Organise a dress down day, and ask everyone to pay a donation.

We hope this page gives you a few ideas. However you decide to fundraise, the money you raise will make a big difference to the lives to the lives of homeless people, so thank you!

If you need any help or have any questions, just get in touch (our e-mail address is info@streetsoflondon.org.uk).