Winchester residents get crash course in homeless lifestyle (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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Winchester residents get crash course in homeless lifestyle
5:40pm Saturday 4th February 2012 in News
Cllr Dominic Hiscock, former Mayor of Winchester, was one of the volunteers for the Lond Day Out challenge
IT might be one of Britain’s wealthiest cities, but not everyone in Winchester has a roof over their heads.
Last Saturday (January 28) a group of volunteers took a crash course in what life on the city’s streets is like.
Entitled The Long Day Out, they had to survive from 8am to 11pm in the cold and with just a handful of change.
They were able to visit the Trinity Centre in Durngate which offers daytime support to the homeless and vulnerable.
The only other door open to them was the Winchester Churches Nightshelter in Jewry Street.
The nightshelter and the Trinity Centre were the good causes set to benefit from the fundraising challenge.
Around a dozen volunteers signed up including former Winchester mayor, Cllr Dominic Hiscock.
Trinity Centre finance director Neville Semple from Littleton also joined in and raised more than £500.
Regulars at the Hyde Tavern in Hyde Street also held a collection for another volunteer, Andy Mills.
The Hyde Tavern was the start and finish point for the 15-hour challenge.
Its landlady Jan Theodore organised the event to help the nightshelter and Trinity Centre.
She said: “These are charities that always need funding and this seemed to be a good way of helping both of them.”
She added that The Long Day Out might become an annual event. Proceeds from the inaugural challenge are now being counted.
Volunteers were also asked to make notes about their day on the streets. They will be displayed at the Hyde Tavern before going on show at Winchester Discovery Centre.
