A Cornish RAF veteran and NCB Radio presenter is set to sleep rough on Bodmin Moor in order to raise money for the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI).
Gary Baker, a director at ‘Op Kernow’, which provides an information and welfare hub for military service personnel, ex-military service personnel in addition to their families and dependents is set to undertake the challenge as part of the annual ‘Great Tommy Sleep Out’.
Mr Baker said the origins of the name for the ‘Great Tommy Sleep Out’, a national fundraising campaign where individuals sleep rough in order to support homeless military veterans, of which there are 6,000 presently in the United Kingdom, comes from the old name for the British Army, being a ‘tommy’.
He explained his reasons for taking part, saying: “I’ve chosen to do my sleep out on Bodmin Moor, because it’s a harsh place meaning you can experience the reality of sleeping rough, but at the same time it isn’t too far from home!
“The idea behind the Great Tommy Sleep Out, and my reasons for taking part in it is to provide support for homeless veterans of which there are around 6,000 currently experiencing homelessness in the United Kingdom.
“My job is in the field of supporting veterans, so in some ways, what the Great Tommy Sleep Out aims to achieve and what I do within our work at Op Kernow go hand in hand as both aim to achieve similar aims, which is to help those who have served our country.”
In addition to his night in the wilds of Bodmin Moor, Mr Baker also said that the issue of supporting veterans was a very current issue that deserved attention, not least with the experiences of running ‘Op Kernow’, which he said wasa facing funding difficulties.
He continued: “At the moment, our ability to support veterans is proving difficult as we are facing issues with funding.
“We’re one of those organisations that don’t quite fit into the boxes that is often expected of similar organisations, for example, we don’t currently have a building.
“That’s because we provide services where it is accessible to those that we’re providing them to, basically, we travel to see people in their local areas.
“The way we see it is we would never, for example, expect a veteran from Helston to have to travel all the way to Bodmin to access our services and assistance, when it is more beneficial for them to access what they need in a location suitable for them.”
Mr Baker is seeking donations and supporters for his ‘Great Tommy Sleep Out’, which can be reached at socialsync.app/fundraiser/cr-7j974yqv9593w