Before all the jokes, there were no Salford Red Devils players sleeping out last night because they hadn't been paid. But present on the grounds outside the AJ Bell Stadium in Barton were over thirty people – volunteers and supporters of Coffee4Craig, plus those who are currently experiencing having nowhere to live.
They were there to raise awareness of the crisis of increasing homelessness and of the non-judgemental aid work Coffee4Craig is doing in Salford and Manchester.
"It's about getting a little bit of public interest about the fact that there are people out there sleeping on the streets every night of the week" explained Fie from Coffee4Craig "I felt it was really important to give our volunteers and supporters and people who wanted to experience getting up in the morning and not having slept in a bed.
"A lot of people go camping and think that's sleeping rough but it's not because when you're in a tent, you're out of the wind, you've got your amenities around you so you're not really going without anything; you're on holiday whereas when you're on the streets you kind of feel lost; you're walking around without a sense and a purpose in life" she added "I wanted to allow people to experience that without the risk."
The AJ Bell Stadium venue came out of a new partnership with the Salford Reds Foundation. Launched at Salford Sleeps Out, Coffee4Craig has teamed up with the Foundation to sell Salford Red Devils Lotto tickets. As part of the deal, Cofee4Craig will get 40% of any Lotto tickets its supporters sell, the Foundation gets 40%, while the other 20% goes to admin for the scheme.
"We signed up for that and then cheekily asked if we could use this place" Fie explained "The Foundation approached the Stadium owners, Salford City Council and Peel Holdings and they didn't have a problem with it. We wanted to go into the centre of Salford and use the Precinct but we're going to save that for the winter. We wanted this to be a family environment, and to be out of the way up here means we're safe, we have toilets, cooking facilities and it's good for children."
Amongst those sleeping out was Rachel, a Coffee4Craig volunteers, who's had experience of homelessness and came up with the Sleep Out idea... "We're working with these people who are really vulnerable and we're trying to empathise with them but can only do it to a certain extent" explained "We want to feel what they feel but also to make people aware of the crisis of homelessness and also of our work. We're trying to make it hard, to slum it..."
Throughout the night there was no entertainment, no comfy floor mats and only each other's uncomfortable stories to keep them company. Amongst those who joined the Coffee4Craig team was Rob who has veered between hostels and the streets...
"Every single hostel is not pleasant" he explained, adding that the worst place he'd slept was on the banks of the canal with "big massive hairy sewer rats running towards you". Meanwhile, on the streets, "You get people slapping you around the head or stamping on your ankles when they're pissed, or calling you names or giving you funny looks but you don't care what they think..."
The idea of Salford Sleeps Out was also to be a fundraiser for Coffee4Craig, and people can still donate (click here)...
"It's not so much about the money for us, it's about the awareness" Fie explained "Go and give someone a cup of coffee if you see them on the street, that's the whole ethos of what we're about...And for this small event we wanted people to get bored, like they've got nowhere to go and nowhere to be. This is like the smooth version of the sleep out..."
Or, as Shelagh Delaney might not have said, a taste of no honey...
There is a full article on the work of Coffee4Craig in the Salford Star print edition - click here
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