On Friday 24 November 2017, the comedian, musician and actor, Bill Bailey, joins renowned broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, for the 2017 Robes Project SleepOut, at Southwark Cathedral.
Bill Bailey, who in 2007 and in 2010, was voted the seventh greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4’s 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, will lead a great line-up of evening entertainment. Alongside Bill Bailey and Sandi Toksvig, who will give an interview on stage, the night will also include, London-born Dominick Felix, a fantastic young tenor who also lives nearby in Southwark, and helps at a shelter on the Old Kent Road, as well as Oompah brass band, who are also based in the Capital.
This is the seventh annual SleepOut at Southwark Cathedral for the homeless in Lambeth and Southwark and hundreds of people are expected to brave potentially freezing cold, wet and windy weather to spend a night sleeping in the churchyard to raise money for the Robes Project homeless shelters. It will help the Robes Project celebrate its 10th anniversary and will once again be preceded by a gala auction, before people bed down in the safe and secure area next to London Bridge.
This year’s SleepOut aims to raise £130,000 – half of the Project’s running costs – so it can run shelters in two locations each night of the winter. With the rise in the numbers of rough sleepers, the Robes Project rehoused 44 people last year, and the previous event raised more than £100,000 with over 120 people taking part.
Every night, the shelter Guests sleep in clean bedding, get hot food, showers and heating, and they have a hot cooked breakfast to start every new day. We use 28 church venues, providing 5,000-bed spaces, and advice and support for around 75 people sleeping rough.
Speaking of his involvement with the evening, Bill Bailey commented:
“It is a great honour to support the Robes Project SleepOut at Southwark Cathedral, now in its seventh year. Homelessness should not be happening in our advanced society, and we must do all that we can to help those who spend every night sleeping rough. It is vital that everyone should have a safe, dry and warm place that they can call home. For the homeless guests of the winter night shelters, sleeping rough can be detrimental to their health, which is why this project is so important.
“I applaud anyone who is willing to join the SleepOut and raise as much as they can to get people off the streets this winter. I hope my contribution to this great event will help achieve the goal of £130,000 and help keep two shelters open each night throughout the winter months.”
The Very Revd Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark said:
“No one should have to sleep on the streets of London. The SleepOut helps bring this goal closer to reality and aims to raise about £130,000, to keep the homeless shelters running in two locations each night.
“We are very pleased to welcome Bill Bailey, Sandi Toksvig, Dominick Felix, and Oompah Brass who will help us have a perfect night of entertainment. We hope to have many people join us and register so fundraising can begin in earnest to meet this year’s target.”
