There is a chorus that we used to sing in Sunday School which has always stuck in my mind. A catchy tune and some unforgettable actions all helped sear it into my brain.
‘The wise man built his house upon the rock’.
Basically it tells the story of 2 different types of builders. The wise man built his house upon the rock and the foolish man built his house upon the sand. Over time the rains came down and the floods came up and it was the house built upon the rock that stood firm. If you want your house or life or business or relationship to stand during the storms that are bound to hit them all you need good foundations.
This weekend I’m hopefully helping to build on Good Foundations…The Swansea City AFC Foundation.
Last night and through to early this morning The Foundation has been hosting ‘The Swans Big Sleep Out’. Over 100 people came to the Swansea dot com armed with sleeping bags and tarpaulins in an attempt to try to stay as warm and dry as possible as they ‘sleep out’ to raise money and awareness of homelessness in all its forms.
Now I should say that I have been a bit of a fraud and its not for the first time. For the past few years I have been a part of the build-up on the evening of the Sleep Out. I’ve helped to host the event but with early Saturday morning commitments I don’t stay the distance.
Anyway, now that I’ve come clean I should say it’s really interesting seeing people as they arrive. Some of the ‘rough sleepers’ are old hands and come well prepared knowing that they need to get a good spot out of the weather and winds. Others come with the best intentions and maybe little idea of what awaits them.
Our evening follows a usual pattern. I try my best to give ‘our guests’ all the information they need for a good night. There are the usual Health and Safety announcements before I introduce the Matthews House Choir (more of them later) and then lead a Q&A with Lee Trundle and a few of the young Swansea City Players who come along to support the event.
And then, as if these people aren’t suffering enough I usually sing a few songs in an attempt to raise their spirits… or help send them to sleep. As they snuggle down and before ‘lights out’ I head for my car and my nice warm bed.
BIG SLEEP OUT 2023
Thankfully this year the weather was a little kinder than it has been in previous years. Last year after a dry day the rain started just as the sleepers started to arrive. A light drizzle at first that soon became the sort of rain that gets into your heart and soul as well as your sleeping bag.
I don’t want to disparage in any way the efforts of everyone who slept rough last night but I think everyone involved with the event knows that really sleeping rough is very different. Whilst everyone was doing their bit to raise money for those who are really homeless, this one night of relative discomfort is very different to what people who live on the streets experience every night.
Our ‘Big Sleep Out’ is conducted in a safe, controlled environment. We have security who are watching over us. No fear of being attacked or robbed as we try to sleep. After the introduction we had a group photograph where we tried our best to smile before heading off for a nice hot meal and warm drink provided by the Levy/Compass organisation.
Throughout the night people could pop to the Press Room for a hot drink or stop off to use the toilets on the concourse. As well as security keeping us safe we also had the St John’s Ambulance there ready and waiting to sort us out if need be.
So what does the evening achieve. Firstly it is about personal awareness, that chance to feel a bit of what sleeping rough can mean. Then it’s about raising awareness of homelessness in our community. Throughout the evening I encouraged people to post pictures and videos about the event on social media telling their contacts why they were sleeping rough. Finally, everyone taking part had the responsibility to raise money through sponsorship to support the work in our city to tackle homelessness and deprivation.
The new Everley Brithers – Smokin Everly and Drinkin Everley.
As I left last night the money was still coming in. Last year the event raised nearly £30,000 which shows that this annual event has a real role to play in showing empathy and solidarity to those having a hard time of things.
At the heart of this project with the Foundation is Matthew’s House. Matts House is based at the Old St Matthew’s Church on High Street. What started with an idea to run a café that took food destined for bins from local supermarkets and businesses and turned that into healthy meals for the homeless and vulnerable has now become a rock in our city that others have built upon. Their work now includes The Homeless Period Project as well as providing clothes and washing facilities for people who need a little help.
Out of the Café has also come Matts Community Choir run by musical director Amanda. Last night they sang their hearts out with a varied programme that filled the stadium with a sound of joy. You could see on their faces and the faces of the crowd that they had hit the right note.
Having been softened up by the choir Thom Lynch, Project Manager for Matts House, explained what the night meant to him and to the work of Matthew’s House. He made people feel good about what they were doing, he encouraged them to raise even more money and he even made a number of us reach for the tissues to brush away some tears.
There are lots of good ideas that people have and try out and they can really produce some great results but sadly as time passes they don’t have the resources or people to keep going. Maybe that’s like a great house built on sand.
What you need is all of the good stuff like enthusiasm and passion to change the world but with a good solid rock foundation.
That’s what the Swansea City AFC Foundation help provide. It’s been working in the heart of our city for over 15 years, using the power of Swansea City AFC to work as ‘a force for positive change in our community’. A report back in 2021 found that ‘the social value of projects and initiatives delivered by the foundation was worth £16.4 million to the city and community’.
Maybe next year I’ll get everyone at the ‘Big Sleep Out’ to sing that old chorus with me…
