York: Jake Mercer to raise money for homeless veterans with sleepout

Jake Mercer will sleep outside at different locations – including the former RAF Riccall Airfield in Skipworth Common and York city centre – across March in aid of the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI).

The 31-year-old from Acomb said he wants to help those that have served their country then fallen on hard times.

Last year Jake, who works as a landscape gardener at Grow With The Flow Services, took on a similar challenge by sleeping rough near Wheldrake to raise money for the national veteran’s charity.

“I slept outside near Weldrake in York on a very windy night and it really brought home, although in a small way, what it’s like to be homeless,” he said.

“In the morning I could go back to a warm, comfortable home, but for so many veterans, sleeping outside every night is their daily reality.”

The sleepout is part of the ‘Great Tommy Sleep Out’ – the RBLI’s flagship fundraising event that raises money for its work with homeless veterans.

Throughout March, people sleep outdoors for one night or more to raise funds for RBLI’s work with homeless veterans.

Support has 'never been more important' - RBLI chief exec 

Lisa Farmer, RBLI’s chief executive, said: “When you think that an estimated 6,000 veterans are street homeless in the UK right now, the support from people like Jake who take part in The Great Tommy Sleep Out has never been more important.”

She added the sleepout is a “powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by servicemen and women who find themselves without a home when they return to civilian life”.

“This is an important issue, and we are working with the Office for Veterans’ Affairs to reduce veteran homelessness and end rough sleeping,” Ms Farmer said.

Last year Jake Mercer and Jennifer Tompkins completed a 151 mile walk over eight days to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society (Image: Supplied)

In 2022 Jake and his girlfriend, Jennifer Tompkins, raised £1,415 for Alzheimer’s Society by hiking 151 miles over eight days from Whitehaven, near the Lake District, to the Minster.

A RBLI spokesperson said the charity can move veterans who are homeless into its emergency accommodation within 24 hours of referral and offer an established pathway with housing providers nationwide.

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“Last year, the demand for RBLI’s services for homeless veterans increased by 45 per cent - and with the cost-of-living crisis, the charity expects the cost of housing those already supported to more than treble,” they said.

“Every penny raised by the Great Tommy Sleep Out campaign will go directly to RBLI’s wide range of services providing a home, welfare, and employment support to military veterans.”

To sponsor Jake visit the Facebook page: My Great Tommy Sleep Out Fundraiser for RBLI (https://www.facebook.com/donate/1785330691986787/).

To take part in The Great Tommy Sleep Out in March, go to rbli.co.uk/sleepout  to sign up.