DJ Burnham raises £20,000 to fight homelessness

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Steve Rotherham, Mayor of Liverpool, held a DJ battle, raising £20,000 for charity.

All proceeds of the DJ battle went to Burnham’s charity, A Bed Every Night. The charity supports rough sleepers in Greater Manchester.

This is a cause that Burnham has supported since his first term, donating a proportion of his salary to the charity every month. The money raised will now go on to fund more than 600 nights of the scheme.

A Bed Every Night provides hot meals, heating, and support in the temporary accommodation for rough sleepers in Greater Manchester. The charity plans to fund 1000 nights over the Christmas period.

Andy Burnham, talking to Fuse TV, explained that “there has been a rise in rough sleeping in the city. We are just seeing the cost of living crisis play out, with more people coming on to the streets sadly”.

Adding, “People’s benefits haven’t caught with inflation. We see a lot of young people come on the streets recently, hence we have made the decision to expand the ‘A Bed Every Night’ campaign”.

Tim Heatley, Chair of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, told the MEN: “it means a lot that so many people continue to get behind our efforts to support people at risk of homelessness when they need it most”.

He added, “Especially at a time when incomes are squeezed, it’s a demonstration of people’s generosity that they still choose to donate to others”.

The two mayors were battling it out on the DJ desks, to answer the question: Which city creates better music? Manchester was supported by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

DJs from each city came out to perform to showcase the talent of their city. At the end of the night, the winner was Manchester. Rotherham promised to have a re-match next year in Liverpool.