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We are taking part in The Prudential Ride Surrey 100 bike challenge in order to raise money for SPEAR, a charity that helps homeless people in South London to find secure accommodation, get effective support and work towards a positive future.

SPEAR as well as The Vineyard Drop in Centre(located in Richmond) were founded by a long time local resident Penny Wade.  The creation of SPEAR was motivated by the death of two homeless people sleeping rough by the river Thames who were regular visitors of the Vineyard Project.  Penny was determined to do something to help local Richmond' homeless and prevent this happening in the future, so created SPEAR.

A little over a year ago I went through a difficult period in my life which led to me eventually become homeless.  I ended up sleeping rough for seven months.  It was only once I contacted SPEAR that I was able to, with their help, get my life back to some kind of normality; they secured accommodation for me, assisted me in getting help dealing with my underlying mental health issues and offered lots of sound advise and guidance. Since then I have been volunteering for SPEAR, helping set up a gardening project at one their supported housing accommodations and I will soon be starting a course for a Peer Mentoring  project.

My experience really did make me realise the cliche that anyone, given certain circumstances, can become homeless, was in fact, very much true.  This is one of the many myths and stereotypes regarding homeless people - that they are somehow different and that - "it could never happen to me".  It is easy to separate yourself from the population if you don't see them.  If they are invisible, the homeless are easy to ignore.  the fact is that one bad circumstance or series of unlucky or unfortunate events can lead to homelessness.  When you listen to the stories of the homeless, you soon realise that anyone of us could become homeless in this society,  In fact, homelessness affects every area of the population.  Even being educated is not a guarantee against becoming homeless.  Homelessness does not discriminate,

The people at SPEAR  are really caring, competent and committed to what they do.  Raising money will help other people  continue to receive the services the charity provides that I benefited so much from.  This is all the more important at the moment as levels of homelessness has been on the increase in recent years.

Did You Know....

• Every 15 minutes, a family become homeless in the UK?
• Relationship breakdown is the main cause of homelessness?
• Homelessness affects people from many walks of life
• The number of people sleeping rough is increasing
• 31% of people experience homelessness have alcohol problems, 30% have a mental health problem,. and 28% are trying to overcome a drug problem.

Some of the services SPEAR provides your donations could help with include:

• A range of accommodation services for rough sleepers and the homeless.
• Support to find and sustain long term accommodation and support to address addictions.
• support to address health and other issues mental distress, relationship problems and addictions.
• Support to develop skills and achieve qualifications.
• Support to prepare for and secure employment.

What your donations could pay for:

• £50.00 could pay for smart clothes for job interviews enabling service users to secure permanent employment
• £25.00 could pay for one day's communal lunch for hostel service users
• £100 could pay for: four heavy duty sleeping bags, seeing rough sleepers through those cold nights.
• £250.00 could pay for a new home starter kit for someone moving to permanent accommodation.

Below is some information on the event we are taking part in:

"Celebrating the legacy for cycling created by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 starts in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, then follows a 100-mile route on closed roads through the capital and into Surrey’s stunning countryside. With leg-testing climbs and a route made famous by the world’s best cyclists at the London 2012 Olympics, it's a truly spectacular event for all involved. The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 finishes on The Mall in central London, shortly before 150 professional cyclists race in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic on a similar route."

Giving through JustGiving

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.