Around three years ago, Matthew Torbitt was homeless for a period of six months... "I spent a bit of time of the streets, then I was doing a lot of sofa surfing, ended up involved in some crime and it was a bit of a troublesome period" he recalls "But the things I've gone on and done since, shows that you can turn your life around if you've got the right support.
"I was lucky" he adds "I had a very good support network and I've gone on to further education with aspirations to do a PhD, and engage with the community..."
Matthew is currently at the University of Salford studying Social Policy and, together with other students from the department, has come up with a challenge to raise money for the Narrowgate homeless shelter in Salford – two days of silence followed by three nights on the streets...
"We thought about what would make the challenge applicable to homeless people and the silence was quite apt as it would show that when you are rough sleeping or homeless you are also voiceless; you are hidden and almost feel like you haven't got a voice" he explains
Matthew feels that his shutting up would also be a personal challenge as "I share my opinions on politics daily". Outspoken on many things, he stood in the last General Election as an Independent candidate, while his YouTube video showing the plight of refugees arriving in Stockport got over 40,000 views...
His silent night, and days, will be between this Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th December, to be followed by three nights with friends and supporters sleeping rough on the streets on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They will be providing food and drink for people who are homeless at the same time and, on the first night, Matthew will arrive complete with Christmas glitter in his beard...
"I'm going to have to walk around with it on my face and that could possibly represent the shame that homeless people feel; they almost feel a burden upon people asking for money and things like that" he explains "It's going to be a tough week but I've got an end goal...
"...On Friday I go back to a normal life, other people are on the streets constantly with no end goal in sight" he adds "So it's not about me, it's about raising awareness that this time of year - albeit that it is a year long problem - rough sleepers do suffer more because of the cold weather. It's a bit of a challenge and also a chance to give a worthy local charity a bit of money really."
Matthew has set himself a goal of raising £500 for Narrowgate. For more details and to donate see his Generosity page (the amounts are in dollars as this site doesn't take a cut from donations) – click here
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