You just get such a sense of the hardship, and how it could be addressed by just taking a little more personal responsibility
After taking part in a sponsored sleep out, investment banker Yiwen Kerr feels he really has got under the skin of what it means to be homeless. In an interview given for his firm’s intranet page, he said:
“After Sheltered Thinking was named Charity of the Year by our bank’s Involved Committee, I was naturally keen to show my support. This isn’t just because Getting Involved is a criterion on our appraisals directly impacting my potential bonus. No, I recognise the need for the firm to be able to say publicly how many hours we spend on charitable activities as part of providing good optics for Government departments handing us outsourcing deals.”
Along with several colleagues, Yiwen spent a night on the streets. The cordoned off area of Canary Wharf was free from hostile design, after all, no one gives a big donation after a night sleeping on spikes. Participants were invited to dine at the event’s pop up gourmet soup kitchen experience, before retiring for the night.
Ensconced in John Lewis sleeping bags, with just their UltraLite insulated sleeping mat to stop the cold pavement seeping in enough to challenge their Snow & Rock thermals, they gained a real insight into the plight of the nation’s poorest. Naturally, for the safety of participants, several security guards in hi-vis patrolled the area, in addition to the guards that keep the actually homeless out of Canary Wharf in the first place.
The event had such an impact on him that Yiwen may encourage his friends to donate to Sheltered Thinking instead of him when he next decides to try and improve his triathlon times.
