This follows the massive response from a large number of mortgage brokers and lenders to Rob Jupp’s tweet.
Brightstar CEO tweeted: “Shocking how many ‘rough sleepers’ there are in London. I can’t remember a time where there have been so many. It’s a national outrage!”
In response of his tweet, Maria Harris, Atom Bank director of retail mortgages, suggested a financial services CEO sleepout to raise funds and awareness, calling for a Mortgage Sleepout, which got approval from a large number of brokers and lenders.
“It would be a shame to limit this to CEOs. A mortgage-only one wouldn’t be difficult to do. We should do it in the middle of winter as well IMHO,” Rob Jupp tweeted.
Chris Barker, co-owner of Manchester Money, answered on Twitter pointing out that the city of Manchester has a real problem. “When I worked in the city centre ten years ago, you may see one or two people homeless. Now there are people sleeping in every other doorway,” he tweeted.
Nicola Firth, founder of Knowledge Bank, tweeted: “Count me in 100%. Every year we take part in The Rucksack Project locally and volunteer at Christmas at the local shelter. It breaks my heart to see people on the street and especially in winter when it must be unbearable.”
Having seen the massive response from the industry, Rob Jupp tweeted: “I am simply overwhelmed and staggered by how many of you have been in touch as a result of a tired and emotion- driven tweet, late last night. Let’s make the #MortgageSleepOut happen. Thanks to Maria Harris for the idea and for so many of you showing that you do care #Emotional.”
Rob Jupp told Mortgage Solutions they are going to talk further but nothing has been confirmed yet.
“Every town faces this issue, not just London. London and Manchester are equally horrific,” he said.
“I am glad to see this was hugely supported by people in the industry in the latest 24 hours, which means that people feel the same. The mortgage community has always been very supportive.”
If you want to support the initiative, join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #MortgageSleepOut!
