A cardboard village will appear for one night only in south-west London as an estimated 250 people show their support for the homeless next month. YMCA London South West’s sixth annual Sleep Easy will take place at Kingston’s Memorial Gardens on March 6, and invites people to sleep rough for one night.
Surbiton resident Ruth Mandry, who took part last year, said: “Even though it was a little bit creepy with the gravestones, I loved the surrealness and spectacle of building a cardboard village in the Memorial Gardens.
“Taking part truly made me realise how intimidating, scary and cold it would be to be homeless.”
Rough sleppers will be entertained on the night with games and a shelter-building competition.
Running overnight from 7pm to 6am, the event costs £10 for adults and £5 for U18s, and includes breakfast, hot drinks, soup and a beanie hat.
The event has raised nearly £70,000 for the YMCA in the past five years.
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