October will see the tenth year of Focus Ireland’s ‘Shine A Light’ sleep-out fundraiser, and the charity is again asking the Irish business community to play its part in the nationwide event on Friday 14.

According to the latest government figures,10,490 people were using emergency accommodation in June 2022, making this year’s sleep-out more important than ever, said Focus.

Clare McKenna of Newstalk, an ambassador for this year’s campaign, commented on her involvement: “I recently hosted a podcast for Focus Ireland, and throughout the interviews I was struck at how much the stereotype of what it means to be homeless is so wrong.

“Any one of us could become homeless, which is a scary but a very real possibility. On the positive side, there is so much that can be done to help people, so much more than people realise. The works that Focus Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy do around Shine a Light Night goes far beyond housing people, and I’m honoured to be part of the campaign and to be part of the sleep-out on October 14.”

Main sponsor Bord Gais Energy is extending this role to 2026, and also appealed to businesses and their staff to join in the sleep-out.

In Association with

People can get involved in Shine a Light night by signing up to sleep out at home on October 14. On the same night, business leaders are invited to sleep out at socially distanced events taking place across the country at the Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin, in Limerick at King John’s Castle and at Cork’s historic Spike Island.

Companies can also sign up to support the initiative by pledging to fundraise and sleep out at their workplace.

Director of services Ciara Carty said: “With homelessness numbers continuing to rise, and Shine a Light night being our most important fundraising initiative each year, we call on businesses to continue their support of our homelessness services and take part.

“The business community in Ireland has always been a strong supporter of the vital homelessness services we provide, which we are truly grateful for. To reach our goal of €1.5m, we are relying on the support of our corporate community.”

There’s more information and a sign-up facility here.