Manchester ACE Girls hold "Girls Night In" to raise awareness of homelessness

On 11^th May a group of 15 year old girls hosted a ‘Girls Night In’ event to raise money for the Manchester wide campaign #BigChangeMCR, a coalition of charities working together to help homeless people stay off the streets. The girls were members of the ReachOut ACE project at Our Lady’s RC High School in Higher Blackley, a youth mentoring programme aimed at improving the character and competence of its young people.

At the start of the academic year, the girls decided that they wanted to undertake a project to raise awareness of homelessness in Manchester. They felt the issue of homelessness was a topic that their peers, school and their local community could come together to support. To make sure their event was a success the group dedicated every Wednesday afternoon at the ReachOut ACE project to plan the event.

The ‘Girls Night In’ had everything essential for a girl’s sleepover, from homemade cakes and pink lemonade to nail painting and hair styling. The event also focused on educating people about homelessness and how they can support victims of homelessness to rebuild their lives.

One of the ReachOut ACE girls commented "I am proud because we did something good for the community and not only raised money but raised awareness of homelessness in Manchester". The group also celebrated how well they'd worked as a team, with everyone taking part, and that they were able to achieve more than they believed was possible during their ReachOut sessions. 

Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central, commented:

“It is heart breaking to see homeless levels rising across the UK. Since 2010, homelessness has increased six-fold and this has been exacerbated by government cuts to funding which is not the right thing to do in order to combat this situation. More needs to be done to protect vulnerable individuals from facing poverty and eviction from their homes.

It is fantastic to see a young group of girls from ReachOut dedicating their energy and time towards raising awareness and education on homeless issues in Manchester. Their collaborative approach with charities is absolutely the right thing to do in terms of combating this problem.”

Well done to everyone involved, as you can see from the pictures the event was a great success!