Get your marshmallows ready! Just Shelter, an Earlsfield-based community charity, are asking local residents to camp out for the night in their gardens, living rooms (or wherever they can) to raise money to buy tents for displaced people living homeless in Calais.
Normally charities receive up to 250,000 tents from festivals. As there are none taking place this year, homeless refugees and asylum seekers living in appalling conditions in northern France are now facing a shortage of tents to live in, in addition to having to cope with the risk of Covid-19. Most of the charities in the area have had to pull out because of the virus, leaving refugees stranded in unsafe conditions with little support.
Just Shelter is aiming to raise at least £1,000 this Saturday to buy tents to be distributed by their partners in northern France. Vanessa Mieville, Director of the charity, says: “This will be a fun family event for the whole community. Everyone is encouraged to join in - you can build a den in your living room or spend the night under the stars in your garden.”
If you would like to join in, please go to our Just Shelter website - upcoming events to sign up (search Just Shelter Earlsfield). The suggested donation is £5 per person, which can also be done via the website. We are asking everybody who is taking part to post a picture of themselves on social media using the hashtag #justsleepout on the evening of Saturday 4th July. There will be a prize for the best decorated tent!