Brian to ‘rough it’ for Midlands Simon

He’s been to the devastated towns and villages of post-earthquake Haiti and to the slums of famine-stricken Africa - often at the expense of his own health - but in his latest charitable venture, Mullingar’s Brian Fagan is set to “rough it” closer to home.Starting on Wednesday evening, October 20 and finishing on Friday morning, Brian will take up residence in a small cabin on Mullingar’s Market Square, in a bid to raise funds for the Midlands Simon Community.He will spend two days and two nights collecting for Midlands Simon, and raising awareness about the plight of a growing number of homeless people in the Midlands and Westmeath.He’s expecting bitterly cold and wet conditions, and hopefully no shortage of moral and financial support for the people of Mullingar.The whole point of the exercise, Brian maintains, is to experience life from the point of view of a homeless person. But should it get too rough outdoors, he can retreat to the moderate comfort of sleeping on the floor of his cabin, kindly loaned by Mullingar’s Denis Corroon.Collections will take place on Market Square on Wednesday, and throughout the streets of the town.“The level of homelessness in Mullingar, Westmeath and indeed the Midlands as a whole is increasing rapidly, so we need all the support we can get,” said Brian, who is regular GOAL volunteer overseas, and runs his own charity shop on Pearse Street.“I hope people will feel free to stop by for a chat, and to give whatever they can to help the homeless people of the Midlands.“We welcome any kind of donations, in all currencies.”Brian has extended his thanks to Westmeath County Council, for allowing him to set up shop on Market Square.His cabin - the modest base of operations for this unique fundraiser - will be located right beside one of Mullingar’s star attractions: the statue of the late Joe Dolan.Midlands Simon has a challenging income target of just over €1 million for 2010. Although 50 percent of this comes from State agencies, €500,000 has to be sourced from private fundraising, to allow the organisation continue to provide essential services for those experiencing homelessness in the Midlands region.