Homeless SleepOut 2026
24 hours in the cold. For the people who do it every night.
A 24-hour solidarity challenge to raise awareness of homelessness and rough sleeping. Join us on the shared date, or pull your team together and run your own. Everything raised goes to our Homeless Outreach in Manchester and Wolverhampton.
- 8am Saturday 5 to 8am Sunday 6 December 2026, the shared date
- 24 hours
- Weekly outreach on the streets of Manchester city centre
- Since March 2022
- People given essentials over the last four years
- 1,000+
8am Saturday 5 to 8am Sunday 6 December 2026, the shared date
Weekly outreach on the streets of Manchester city centre
People given essentials over the last four years
Take part with us, or run your own
The shared date is the first weekend in December, 8am Saturday to 8am Sunday. Sleep out alongside us on that date and you are part of something happening in more than one city at once.
Or run your own. Workplaces, student groups, football teams, churches, whoever. You pick the location, you pick the date that suits your volunteers, and we give you the guide to do it safely.
Either way it does the same two jobs. It raises money for the outreach, and it puts rough sleeping in front of people who would otherwise walk past it.
Planning your SleepOut
The order that works, straight out of the organiser guide.
Pick a date and time
Aligning with us means the first weekend in December, 8am Saturday to 8am Sunday. Shift the start and finish if that suits your volunteers better.
Choose an organiser
One person leading it start to finish: recruiting sleepers, handling enquiries, sourcing the location, chasing sponsorship.
Find a secure location
In or around your city centre, or the outskirts if that works better. Somewhere genuinely safe to spend a night, away from passers-by and disorderly behaviour.
Assess the site twice
Once in daylight, once after dark. Lighting, dark spots, crime risk, CCTV, emergency access, flooding, trip hazards, overnight temperature.
Score it and decide
Rate the site 1 to 5 for daytime and night-time, list the real risks and how you are handling them, then make an honest go or no-go call.
Get your team together
Colleagues, volunteers, supporters. Keep everyone in one thread on email or WhatsApp and confirm availability well ahead of the night.
The £5 food challenge
We suggest a £5 food limit per person for the full 24 hours. A small way to stand with people who miss meals because of the cost of living.
Collecting the money
The fundraising side is the bit most first-time organisers leave too late.
On-street donations
A secure charity collection bucket with a lid. Add a handheld Square or SumUp reader for contactless, since almost nobody carries cash now.
Signs and leaflets
A-frame pavement signs and leaflets with a QR code straight to your donation link. Make it obvious to a passer-by why you are sat there.
A word on card readers
Card devices do not always suit corporate giving or personal bank accounts. Check how the money lands before the night, not after it.
Bring the essentials
December, outside, all night. Tick these off as you pack.
9 things to pack
Stay together
Meet somewhere safe before the event, travel to the location together as a group, and stay together through the night. Nobody peels off on their own.
The organiser guide
Everything above in full, plus the complete site assessment checklist, welfare and security, volunteers, branding and the night plan.
mandem-sleepout-2026-organiser-guide.pdf PDF, 1.9 MB
Before you commit
Count me in
Tell us you are sleeping out and we will send you the guide, the fundraising bits and a reminder closer to the night.
Not sleeping out? Back someone who is.
Every donation goes to the outreach: the essentials we hand out weekly in Manchester and Wolverhampton.
Need help?
Any questions about running your own SleepOut, just ask.
Jamie Dennis, info@mandemmeetup.org