Sleep Easy Album

On 25th January 2014, the annual, national YMCA "Sleep Easy" fundraising event took place in Wimbledon and Kingston when brave fundraisers will sleep rough for a night in order to raise awareness about homelessness issues in their local communities. For this year’s fundraiser, YMCA London South West have released this album with seven original songs about homelessness. All seven songs are written and performed by residents and support workers associated with YMCA LSW, and the album is recorded and mastered in the music studio at YMCA Surbiton. Residents all contributed to the album with their original songs. They hope that the records will help create awareness about how it is to be homeless. “People do not necessarily understand how it is to be homeless just from seeing a young person living on the street. I think I wanted to show that it’s not their own fault when people end up sleeping rough or become homeless; it has to do with all sorts of causes”, a YMCA resident said. “Also, everyone’s got pride, even those on the street that you don’t look at. Remember, they too feel their self-worth stripped when facing themselves in such a situation”. Jason Ray, a Senior Support Worker at YMCA Surbiton and a driving force in making the album a reality, states that "the quality of the songs on the Sleep Easy EP is one of the best things to have come out of the YMCA recording facility. What we have ended up with is an EP diverse in musical genres and songs with real depth to them. I’ve been really impressed with the song writing ability and commitment shown by all those involved. We would like to Thank Mike Cliffe for his time in the studio Producing all the tracks on this album. Note to Editors: About YMCA London South West: YMCA LSW is a registered charity that works across South West London providing a range of services including supported housing; children's work; sports, health, exercise and fitness; youth work; catering services and conference facilities; short stay hostel accommodation and community programmes.