![](\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s---TLZ0Ts_--\/f_auto,t_content-image-full-mobile@1\/v1701429708\/autoexpress\/2023\/12\/Bentley%20Bentayga%20to%20a%20sleeping%20bag.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I wonder where you are reading this. Perhaps it\u2019s at home. Or maybe you\u2019re sitting in the car. Well, either way, I truly hope your car isn\u2019t doubling up as your home. It is, though, for an increasing number of people across the country today \u2013 and not through choice, as I\u2019m discovering one very cold November night.<\/p>\n
Homelessness is, sadly, nothing new and it\u2019s certainly not going away. Nor will it be disappearing from the news any time soon, following comments made by a certain former cabinet member. But, really, why would anyone choose to live their life on the streets? Or even in their car? I plan to find out and tell you all about it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m in Milton Keynes, Bucks, and I\u2019m not in a car, let alone a Bentley. In fact, I\u2019m outside without protection from the inevitable rain. And I\u2019m with 40 or so others in an event organised by CEO Sleep Out, which helps business leaders (who don\u2019t have to be a CEO) experience homelessness, and raise money for homeless charities that really need it. They\u2019ve raised a great deal of money over the 10 years they\u2019ve been operating similar events.<\/p>\n
The night has begun with a ride to the venue in a slightly incongruous Bentley Bentayga at the request of Auto Express\u2019s editor-in-chief, Steve Fowler. Great, Steve, thanks. Let\u2019s arrive at an event to raise awareness for homelessness in a car that\u2019s worth the equivalent of a reasonable flat in most cities. I think it\u2019s revenge for me persuading him to herd sheep in a Bentayga earlier this year. Both events have been possible because I\u2019m blessed to work in the Bentley Communications team.<\/p>\n
My first job is to register and sign the inevitable disclaimer, which rather disconcertingly includes the line: \u2018I may even die\u2019. Gulp.<\/p>\n
Beforehand, each participant was told it would be up to them to bring what they\u2019d need, but fortunately CEO Sleep Out has also provided a comprehensive list of important equipment, ranging from thick socks to a ground sheet. At the recommendation of colleagues who camp, I\u2019ve added a Bivi Bag. If you\u2019re not familiar with this, as I wasn\u2019t, it\u2019s a giant foil bag (silver on the inner side to reflect your body heat) into which you insert your sleeping bag. I now think it\u2019s the world\u2019s best invention since four-wheel steering.<\/p>\n
After a sad farewell to the Bentayga, it\u2019s time to find a place to pitch, the choice being grass or concrete. We then hear from some of Milton Keynes\u2019 homeless charities, including the one I\u2019m fundraising for, The Bus Shelter MK. What they have to say is shocking. The cost-of-living crisis has impacted us all. Some of us might have forgone a holiday, but there are more and more people who can no longer afford rent, let alone a mortgage. And often, it\u2019s through no fault of their own.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--UrJKStV4--\/f_auto,t_content-image-full-mobile@1\/v1701429738\/autoexpress\/2023\/12\/Bentley%20Bentayga%20to%20a%20sleeping%20bag-7.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Pam Williams, chair of trustees and a founding member of the charity, tells me her team are being contacted by an increasing number of people sleeping in cars. These are people who have recently had a home, a job and enough income to afford to run a car, but who now find themselves homeless. Among her current guests is one young man and his disabled dog, who were both sleeping in his car until it got towed away with all his belongings. As the only homeless facility in the area that accepts dogs, The Bus Shelter MK was his sole hope, and thank goodness the charity had a vacancy for both parties.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--2ndlamRb--\/v1683626472\/assets\/partners\/powered-by-motorway_150x70.png\")
\n<\/p>\n
Other guests who were sleeping in their vehicles before coming to their shelter include a self-employed builder
\nwho could no longer work due to a bad back, and whose marriage broke down as a result. And then there\u2019s a taxi driver who also found himself homeless after a relationship breakdown \u2013 a common reason for homelessness.<\/p>\n
Someone else who has chosen to join the Sleep Out and raise money for The Bus Shelter MK is James Tonks, Account Manager for Marine and ATV at the Milton Keynes HQ of Suzuki. He\u2019s taken part because he believes passionately that everybody today should have a roof over their head. We of course also talk cars, his being a Suzuki Swace estate. And we both come to the conclusion that it would make a brilliant choice to spend the night in.<\/p>\n
But we aren\u2019t here to sleep in a car. It\u2019s time to get into our sleeping bags. I\u2019d stopped looking at the weather forecast (what you don\u2019t know can\u2019t hurt you) but I know it\u2019s going to rain at some point. Which it does.<\/p>\n
My wonderful Bivi Bag keeps me dry, but as I go on to discover, even the combination of industrial-strength ear-plugs and a Bentley woollen beanie isn\u2019t anywhere near enough to drown out the noise of Milton Keynes nightlife. Car alarms included. And I start to really shiver as the night edges slowly towards morning. So it\u2019s fair to say I get not much, if any, sleep.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m actually at my coldest when I get out of the bag and have to pack all my belongings together to return to the Bentayga. And as soon as I get in, the heated seats are definitely turned up to \u2018Max\u2019.<\/p>\n
It was just one night. I thankfully didn\u2019t die. I was warned of rats, although the only thing that joined me in my sleeping bag was a worm. I didn\u2019t experience any abuse from the public. Nor politicians. But, my goodness, it has made me think \u2013 as was intended \u2013 of all those for whom it\u2019s their life. Not a style. And certainly not a choice.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--e0gYXgJI--\/f_auto,t_content-image-full-mobile@1\/v1701429726\/autoexpress\/2023\/12\/Bentley%20Bentayga%20to%20a%20sleeping%20bag-10.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Bus Shelter MK provides a temporary home, healthy food and one-to-one support to people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets.<\/p>\n
Since it opened in 2017, more than 200 people have been given a temporary home and hope for the future. The team works through the complex issues preventing each individual from making a fresh start \u2013 renewing ID documents, obtaining a bank account, getting access to health professionals, finding employment and, of course, securing an affordable home.<\/p>\n
Once based in a bus, (hence the name), the charity now has 21 bedrooms in four locations across the city, although sadly that number is nowhere near enough and desperate people are being turned away every day.<\/p>\n
Pam Williams, chair of trustees of The Bus Shelter MK said: \u201cThanks to everyone who joined the CEO Sleep Out. Business leaders can help in so many other ways, too, by offering work opportunities and supporting staff who volunteer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The money Wayne raised will help with the ever-increasing running costs. It takes \u00a3100 per week to support one of the charity\u2019s guests and it spends \u00a31,000 per month on utility bills alone. For more information and to donate, please visit: thebussheltermk.org<\/p>\n