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Nightwatch volunteer is ready to rough it for charity

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Jeff Gridley, an Old Town resident, is giving up the dry and warmth of his home over the next week and will be living rough to try to highlight the plight of Croydon’s homeless.

Five nights on the streets: Jeff Gridley faces a rough time

Gridley, who drives one of the council contractors Veolia’s dustcarts, will be raising money for Croydon Nightwatch as well as public awareness of the growing number of people having to endure a life on the streets.

Next week’s forecasts are predicting some of the coldest weather of the winter so far for Gridley’s nights out.

Gridley has been volunteering with Nightwatch for a year.

On Sunday, he will leave home wearing second-hand clothes, without money or phone and with just a sleeping bag to keep him warm. He plans to use the services of various homeless “drop in” centres around Croydon as well as receiving food from the Croydon Nightwatch soup run in Queen’s Gardens.

“I hope my first-hand experience will allow Nightwatch to further improve its service to the local homeless community and raise funds for the charity,” Gridley said.

Croydon Nightwatch has been serving the needs of Croydon’s homeless community for more than 37 years and received the Voluntary Group of the Year Award from Croydon Council in the 2012 Civic Awards for being “a local group leading the way in volunteering”.

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