AFC Fylde football stadium to host Big Sleep Out to help the homeless – here’s how you can get involved

AFC Fylde Community Foundation, in partnership with The Salvation Army, will host their first Big Sleep Out at Mill Farm on Friday, November 17, with participants spending a night braving the elements on the North Stand terrace at the home of AFC Fylde.

A spokesperson for AFC Fylde Community Foundation said: “To highlight the issues facing homeless people across Fylde, we have teamed up with the Salvation Army for

The Big Sleep Out. We are encouraging Coasters’ supporters, community organisations and local businesses to get involved by supporting the Foundation and The Salvation Army on the night.”

The North Stand will be open from 7pm on Friday, November 17, until 7am on Saturday, November 18. Those participating in The Big Sleep Out are advised to wear warm and appropriate clothing for the night and bring their own sleeping bag and will be provided with a hot breakfast roll and tea and coffee in the morning following the event.

Homelessness has continued to be an issue within the Fylde borough, with recent figures suggesting that 256 families were accepted as being homeless, while hundreds of people are sleeping rough in our local community.

Wesley Partington, Foundation Director of AFC Fylde Community Foundation, said: “We’re looking forward to hosting our first Big Sleep Out event. It will provide an experience of what homeless people go through every day, it’s an important issue that is prominent in our local area, and we feel that our Big Sleep Out can help tackle and raise awareness of homelessness in Fylde.

“We are proud to support our local Salvation Army and the positive impact that they continue to have across Fylde.”

Captain John Clifton, Church Leader of the Blackpool Salvation Army, which runs a day centre for rough sleepers across the Fylde Coast, The Bridge Project, added: “We’re thankful to AFC Fylde for opening its stadium doors to raise awareness of such an important issue.

“Most of us have never been homeless or slept outside and wondered how we will keep warm throughout the bitter temperatures as the hours pass, but by spending one night without luxuries and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone, we can provide a small insight into a big reality that many face daily, and the conditions they have to endure.”

If you are over 18 and want to get involved in The Big Sleep Out, please contact [email protected].