ADVER reporter Kirsten Grant joined this year’s Big SleepOut and the experience proved a real eye-opener...

Threshold's annual mass Big SleepOut returned bigger and better this year as 135 people braved the cold December weather to raise money for the homeless.

To say I was apprehensive about sleeping out for the night in December is an understatement.

I’m not the sort of person who enjoys camping or being in any way cold so I probably over-prepared for the night with my four layers, blanket, over-the-top sleeping bag, hat, scarf and gloves.

Even though temperatures plummeted to 3C, this was mild compared to earlier in the week when temperatures dropped to -2C.

To be honest I was dreading the whole experience. What I didn’t realise was that the entertainment part of the evening would be so…fun.

The kids were so excited to be out past their bedtime that they provided enough diversion alone - but the excellent food and music really topped off the evening and distracted me from the cold hours facing me.

When I actually tried to go to sleep at about 2am, it hit me how impossible it must be for those who live this as their reality.

I had far more protection from the cold than most yet by about 3am my feet felt like ice blocks in my thermal socks and my hands were stinging from the cold.

The wind hitting the back of my neck stopped me from dropping off to sleep for more than an hour.

When I’d suffered through a few painful hours of sleeplessness, I got to go home to my warm home and sleep it off.

The experience did make me stop and think.

My ‘sleep out’ was nothing close to an authentic experience. I’d enjoyed hot food, music, chatter and I didn’t even have to contend with the noises of living in a town (the snoring was enough to bother me).

And, with stewards watching over us, I never felt unsafe or exposed. Sadly, those who actually sleep rough have no protection at all - as I heard from the many shocking stories shared by Threshold’s team.

I can’t fathom how unbearable those sub-zero nights are, let alone enduring more than one of them. According to Threshold, this is the reality for at least 10 people in Swindon right now.

To find out more about the charity, click here where you can donate via wonderful.org, PayPal, BACs, cheque or cash.