£10k Raised for The Big Belfast Sleepout

Pictured above: Members of the Bar’s Charity Committee with Kieran Hughes, Fundraising and Marketing Manager from The Welcome Organisation

Members of the Bar’s Charity Committee joined our Charity of the Year, The Welcome Organisation, for the Big Belfast Sleepout on 1st December at St Anne’s Cathedral. Adele O’Grady QC, Sarah Ramsey, Martina Connolly, Jill Lindsay and Tom Fitzpatrick braved the wintery weather to sleep rough overnight to raise funds for The Welcome Organisation.

Chair of the Charity Committee Adele O’Grady QC commented:

“I want to say a big thankyou to all our members who so generously donated to the Big Belfast Sleepout appeal. We’ve raised over £10,000 through our JustGiving pages and fundraising efforts in the Bar Library. On behalf of the Charity Committee and the Welcome Organisation, it is greatly appreciated and will be used to benefit a great number of people over the coming winter months.”

Every year around 20,000 people present as homeless to the Housing Executive in Northern Ireland. People become and stay homeless for a whole range of complex and coinciding reasons. Tackling homelessness is about much more than putting a roof over people’s heads. Many homeless people face a number of issues in addition to, but often compounded by, their homelessness. Isolation coupled with the destructive nature of homelessness means that homeless people find it difficult to access the help they need. To find out more visit http://www.homelessbelfast.org