EMPLOYEES of a housebuilder spent a night outdoors without shelter to help an effort to prevent homelessness.

Workers from Miller Homes, headquartered in Newton-le-Willows, spent the night in Cornerstone’s Big Sleep Out event in Manchester, to raise funds for the charity’s Safe Haven night provision preventing homelessness.

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After raising more than £6,000 last year for Cornerstone, Miller Homes continued their support with a team of 21 employees and their families taking part in the charity’s fifth annual ‘Big Sleep Out’ event last Friday night.

The event saw participants sleeping outdoors at the Xaverian College for one night to encourage sponsorship, fundraising to provide shelter for up to 30 homeless men and women in Cornerstone’s Safe Haven pods.

Miller Homes have shown their dedication to tackling the issue of homelessness in Manchester.

In December, the company donated £6,750 to Cornerstone’s day centre following fundraising efforts throughout the year. This donation helped the charity provide education programmes for its clients as well as increased one-to-one support for those facing a wide range of social issues.

Ian Smith, managing director of Miller Homes in the North West, said: “We are delighted to continue our support of Cornerstone’s work.

"As we bring new homes to the city with our new Novus development in Stretford, it’s vital that we also work to help those who have fallen on difficult times and have no safe place to live.”

Angela McIntyre, Operations Manager at Cornerstone, added: “We’re thrilled with the continued support we have received from Miller Homes.

"The Big Sleep Out is a great event not only to raise vital funds for our Safe Haven night provision, but also to bring to light the reality of homelessness.

"Those who took part experienced one night of sleeping outside with the realisation that they would come home to a warm bed afterwards, whilst many rough sleepers in the streets of Manchester experience this night after night not knowing when they would get any shelter. For many participants, this is a sobering revelation.”

Cornerstone’s aim is to provide services to help vulnerable and disadvantaged adults regardless of age, gender or ethnicity. Working in partnership with Cornerstone, the team at Miller Homes are striving to ensure that those sleeping rough are provided with a safe place to shelter.