Whittlesey Royal British Legion organising rough sleeping event in aid of homeless veterans

Members of the Whittlesey branch of the Royal British Legion are putting the final touches to a rough sleeping event which they hope will aid military veterans forced to live on the streets.

The event, called ‘The Great Tommy Sleep Out’ will see close to 50 people sleeping on the outskirts of the town at Decoy Lakes on Saturday, March 16.

The outreach event is being organised by Tracey McIntosh, a member of the Whittlesey Royal British Legion.

She told the Peterborough Telegraph what she hoped the gathering would achieve:

“This event is for the charity Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) to help raise vital funds to provide shelter, food and much more to homeless veterans.”

Separate both in governance and finance to the Royal British Legion, the RBLI has been aiding vulnerable military veterans for more than a hundred years.

A number of groups in and around the town, including the Scouts, Bearded Villains (East Anglia), and local Slimming World group, have signed up for the event, which Tracey assures will be “fully outside.”

“Some people are taking tents,” she notes, “but lots of us are taking cardboard and sticks and sleeping like wild camping.”

Tracey has also arranged for a special guest to join the hardy volunteers.

“We have a veteran who lives locally, a former Royal Green Jacket, who’s coming down,” she says; “he’ll be doing survival skills and fire-building.”

The RBLI estimates that there are some 6,000 veterans currently sleeping rough on the streets of the UK.

Tracey believes events of this kind can be hugely beneficial in helping to alter people’s perceptions of what it is to be a homeless veteran:

“I think it makes people think more,” she suggested.

“The more people that go out and do it, the more they realise how hard it is for a veteran.”

Part of a national initiative led by the RBLI, ‘The Great Tommy Sleep Out’ seems to have touched a nerve, both nationally and locally.

The ‘Great Tommy Sleep Out 2024’ Facebook page now boasts over 23,000 members while the official JustGiving page has already raised more than £136,000 in donations.

Visit ‘The Great Tommy Sleep Out’ page to find out more.