‘Hi my name is Mark. This is a letter to let you know what having an ‘Above Us Only Sky’ sleeping bag means. It helped me massively when I was homeless, living on the streets. I was living over Wanstead Marshes and different places for nearly two years. Homeless, with a drug addiction problem. I went to the Salvation Army in Romford to have a shower. It was then I was given an army sleeping bag and printed on the holdall was the phrase ‘Above Us Only Sky’.
‘Before I got this sleeping bag, I used to wake up freezing, wet, sometimes covered in snow, frost. Not only was the sleeping bag warm, it had a waterproof cover to go over the outside and it worked wonders. I can honestly say that sleeping bag saved my life a few times, restored my brain and my sanity back to a bit more normal, able to think without shivering and able to sleep without getting wet. It gave me the bit of sanity I needed to keep me going. There’s nothing worse than being shivering cold, wet and damp.
‘For eight months now I have been clean. I have a home to live in and my life has taken a massive u-turn and gets better every day. I have God in my life today and that keeps me safe. In the process of finding my faith. I had the privilege of meeting the founders of the charity ‘Above Us Only Sky’ and they are amazing Christian men. They invited me down to Victoria to Church Without Walls. That is where they feed and hand out food and sleeping bags to the less fortunate.
‘Now on Saturday morning I go to Victoria and give these brilliant sleeping bags out to the people that are sleeping rough. And share my story, hope and strengths to the homeless. So when I go, I give the sleeping bags to the ones that need them. I know that even if their day goes wrong, I know that they will be warm and dry and have a decent sleep. It’s a brilliant charity and I’m so glad that it was able to help me.
‘God bless, Mark’