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ImpactHK founder, Jeff Rotmeyer (left) and Jose Raymundo M. Gabriel, aka “Bong”, a musician who found housing with the help of the charity. Photo: Edward Wong
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Hong Kong’s Big Sleep Out – spend a night under the stars to end homelessness

  • Supported by celebrities Helen Mirren and Will Smith, the global challenge aims to raise funds and awareness and increase empathy
  • Event to give the city’s homeless people a second chance and get them off the streets
Wellness
Lauren James
Lauren James
Why you can trust SCMP

Amid the current turmoil, we all need some­thing to look forward to, so how about marking your calender with a night under the stars? Hong Kong’s first Big Sleep Out is part of a global initiative to raise money for the homeless.

Beneath the Observation Wheel on the Central Harbourfront, participants will watch music performances and video messages beamed in from celebrity supporters Helen Mirren and Will Smith, joining with 50,000 other sleepers at hundreds of events across the planet.

While one half of the proceeds will be donated to charities helping homeless and displaced people worldwide, the other half will go to ImpactHK, the Hong Kong charity fighting to eradicate homelessness in a city that regularly tops rankings of the world’s most expensive and where there is an enormous disparity between rich and poor.

Official figures show there are 1,127 registered street sleepers in the city, not counting those who live in cramped accommodation, such as “coffin homes”, but charities believe the actual number is much higher.

As well as funds, the event is designed to raise awareness and foster empathy, though participants will experience a far less arduous version of rough sleeping than Hong Kong’s homeless. “Not only do they sleep in a place that’s less inviting, they’re sleeping in places where they’re not wanted,” says Jeff Rotmeyer, the founder of ImpactHK. “Also they have to live with the pain from their past and the hopelessness of the future. So it’s not comparable, but it does make you think about it from their perspective.”
ImpactHK has evolved from handing out food to the homeless to opening a walk-in centre that employs members of the commu­nity, sponsoring housing to get individuals off the streets, and will soon launch a second-hand shop in Yau Ma Tei – all projects that will receive a boost from the Big Sleep Out. As well as serving 1,500 meals each week, the charity has housed more than 50 people, the first of whom, sixty-some­thing musician Jose Raymundo M. Gabriel, aka “Bong”, will perform at next month’s event.

“It’s not going to be an event where we go out there and start crying,” Rotmeyer says. “We’re going to come together as a community and have some good conver­sations and fun. And, at the core, see how we as a community can continue getting stronger to better support the homeless.

“The more funds we have the more lives we can save.”

The Big Sleep Out will take place on December 7. Places cost US$20 per person. To register, visit bigsleepout.com.

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