Aaron Jacob raises over £1,000 for local homeless charity:
Aaron Jacob, a former St Albans City and District Councillor, has raised over £1,000 for local homelessness charity, Open Door.
On Friday 7th November 2025, Aaron swapped his bed for a sleeping bag for one night to help raise vital funds for Open Door and people experiencing homelessness in our community. Aaron Jacob represented the Mayor of St Albans City & District by sleeping out overnight.
Every year, participants from across St Albans come together to brave the cold, raise awareness, and support the essential services that Open Door provides – from emergency shelter and hot meals to long-term help and hope.
Aaron arrived at Oaklands College for about 7.30pm. Aaron had worn multiple layers of clothing in anticipation of the cold, and bought tarpaulin, cardboard and a sleeping bag. Aaron gave his reflections on the night itself.
“When I arrived, the weather was remarkably mild. It was spitting with rain slightly, but this was intermittent throughout the night. There were so many other participants and charities represented – it was great to see. I then set out to set up my base for the night. I had layered a lot of cardboard on top of the tarpaulin in the belief that the further I was away from the ground, the better. Rather embarrassingly, it only then occurred to me that the more it rained, the more useless this idea might be, as the cardboard became soggier and soggier.
I then managed to cover half my base with tarpaulin on top, so that half my sleeping bag was covered, the other half exposed to the elements.
Perhaps most striking of all was that the weather simply became an afterthought. What most affected my ability to sleep was the fact that I became ever more attuned to the slightest noise, birds singing, say, or someone talking, and any light. The cardboard was pretty rough on my back, making it difficult to get comfortable, and despite wearing multiple layers, I was very conscious of the sleeping bag soaking through, and my legs getting wet.
I reflected afterwards just how every aspect of this was so difficult, time-consuming, and exhausting. Not just setting up your base. Not just trying to get some rest. But knowing that, night after night, this all has to be repeated.
I know that the funds I have raised will go to a good cause. I hope, too, that the awareness I have raised of this will make us all aware of the suffering of too many in our local community and across the country”.
You can still donate to this great cause here:
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mayor-st-albans-sleepout-2025
You can find out more about Open Door here: https://www.opendoorstalbans.org/