Gavin Carter is sleeping rough tomorrow night to help raise awareness and cash for a charity dedicated to supporting homeless people in Merseyside.

He will be bedding down for the night in a cardboard box under a plastic sheet outside Liverpool’s St James’ Cathedral.

Gavin, head of service delivery at the Professional Services Centre (PSC), is taking part in a fundraising event for the Whitechapel Centre, which is a leading homeless and housing charity based in Liverpool that works with people who are sleeping rough, in hostels or in unstable accommodation.

With temperatures set to dip to 13 degrees, it will be a chilly night.

Gavin said: “Whenever you walk in a city centre you cannot fail but to be moved by the number of homeless people struggling in very difficult conditions.

“I am immensely proud that probation works with some people for whom stable accommodation is hard to achieve, and that our job helps supports them.

“I’ve wanted to experience it firsthand and do more than just donate to charity, so I found out about the event Whitechapel organise and it struck a chord.”

The PSC provides a range of functions to Interserve’s Community Rehabilitation Companies, including working on the information provided by the partner organisations delivering the Through the Gate service for offenders preparing for release from custody into the community.

Gavin said: “Our teams gather information collated by our TTG providers via the Basic Custody Screening Tool. We find out when people have accommodation problems and ensure probation case managers know that.

“It’s not always possible to solve an individual’s housing problems, but probation provides all the support and assistance it can.

“Having stable accommodation is one of the key elements to helping some people stop re-offending.”

Gavin is taking part in the Liverpool Sleep Out on Friday, October 13th. To sponsor him, please click this link.