Wake up to an opportunity to help children sleeping rough

80,000 young people find themselves homeless every year in the UK

On 19 May Action for Children Scotland will host a launch information event for Byte Night Scotland 2016. The event is a great opportunity for business people from across the country to find out more about the UK’s biggest sleep out, on Friday 7 October, to raise funds for the charity’s work in ensuring every child has a safe and loving place to call home.

80,000 young people find themselves homeless every year in the UK and it is statistics like this that drive Action for Children to combat the root causes of youth homelessness.

Ahead of this year’s launch event, Amy* tells her story about the support she received from Action for Children Scotland. “I went through a difficult time two years ago due to a family breakdown. I felt like running away from home so many times. Often I went and stayed at my friend’s house, just to get away from the home situations.

“It got so bad that I would do anything not to be at home. My school education started to suffer, as I couldn’t concentrate in class. I got behind with my homework and started to get bad grades. Everything slowly started to slip. It was my best friend who told my teacher at school that I was having problems at home. My teacher really supported me and referred me to Action for Children Scotland.

“I remember going to the project and I was initially quite scared to move in to temporary accommodation, and leaving my home. But another part of me was thinking it can’t be any worse than my home situation, so I took that step – the best step of my life.

“The workers at Action for Children were really nice. They made a real effort to get to know me first before asking me about my home life. It felt like someone was actually interested in what I had to say for once. They really listened. All the fears I had went away and I slowly started to settle in more.

“The environment was really friendly. I felt really safe, I wasn’t scared anymore. My workers helped me settle back into education and bring my grades up. They helped me with my university application form. If it wasn’t for Action for Children I probably wouldn’t have even considered going to University this year.

“I can’t thank Action for Children enough for all their support they have given me. They really have changed my life around.”

We invite you to join us as we launch our inaugural event to find out just how vital your support is in changing the lives of young people. We promise an evening of informal networking, light refreshments and the chance to hear from some of the young people who have been helped by the money raised by Byte Night. Last year more than 90 technology and business experts in Edinburgh bedded down for the night in Charlotte Square and raised £54,604 in the process. They joined almost 1,200 people across the UK who slept out and raised £1m.

Byte Night has raised more than £8 million since it launched in 1998. Simultaneous sleep outs take place in London, Thames Valley, Cambridge, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast and Edinburgh. Some of the projects that have benefited include New Horizons in Haddington, which provides accommodation for homeless young people.

• Name changed to protect identity.

This year, people will spend Friday 7 October sleeping out in Charlotte Square. To find out more about Byte Night or to take part please visit bytenight.org.uk or contact the Byte Night team on [email protected]. One night can really make a difference.

• More information on becoming a Friend of The Scotsman