Harborough youngsters spend the night sleeping rough to find out what it is like to be homeless

Eighteen scouts from Welland Valley and Market Harborough Troops braved the cold and wet outside Medbourne village with nothing more than a cardboard box as a make shift shelter.

They could make themselves supper but with only a kettle and limited foodstuffs.

Scouting ambassador Ed Stafford was on hand to give the Scouts tips on keeping warm whilst sleeping rough using his experience on the streets and on his Amazon adventures.

Ed said: "I just think it’s great that we can get young people thinking about challenging issues like homelessness. By building these cardboard shelters and spending the night in them, it really helps the Scouts put themselves into others’ shoes. By taking part in our social action campaign, A Million Hands, the young people can get to grips with the big issues facing society, while learning skills for life."

The sleepover helped to raise funds for Crisis and as the Scouts move further into this Community Impact Challenge they will be finding out about and supporting the work of Jubilee Food Bank in Market Harborough.

Debbie Billington, lead volunteer for Harborough district, said: “We are enhancing young people’s understanding of the many factors that contribute to homelessness, and showing them how they can help end the problem for good.

"Homelessness isn’t inevitable. With the right solutions in place we can build a fairer society, where no one is without a safe home to call their own.”

To get involved with local scouting visit www.harboroughscouts.org.uk/join.