Join us on the street to help campaign on homelessness

ON FRIDAY I shall be giving up the comforts of my Glasgow home and spending a night out on the streets of Edinburgh with colleagues and many others who are taking part in the Bethany Christian Trust's Big Sleepout.

The event is aimed at raising awareness and money to help address homelessness in Scotland.

I won't pretend that spending one night on the streets in what should be a jovial – if not somewhat cold – environment will ever give me a real insight into what it's like to be homeless but that is not the point of this gathering.

We need to highlight this issue and make it a bigger priority. In Scotland we have 50,000 people registered as homeless and there are simply not enough resources to deal with the problem.

Last Christmas, when Scotland experienced one of its coldest winters in decades, I saw first-hand how charities like Bethany Christian Trust (BCT) face huge challenges in helping people off the streets, with their work sometimes making the difference between life and death. I've had the pleasure of working with BCT over the past year seeing the great work they do and they need our support to do more of it. BCT's focus is to give homeless and vulnerable people hope and a future, and they have been very effective in delivering on this aim, becoming Scottish charity of the year in 2009.

BCT is really committed to tackling homelessness at all levels – they run vital services such as Care Shelter which provides emergency accommodation in church halls around Edinburgh during the coldest spells of the year and the Care Van which roams the Capital's streets bringing direct help to those who really need it. These are important front-line services, but BCT's work goes well beyond the daily fire-fighting. I am very impressed with its counselling services and community support for vulnerable people, where the aim is to help those who are in the transition from a life on the streets to one where they have greater stability with a home to live in, a job to go to, and other foundations to build a life with aspirations and hope.

I think BCT is worthy of support and I would urge people to get involved by taking part in the Big Sleep Out. It may not be the most comfortable night we spend on Friday but it's nothing compared to the discomfort we should all feel when we face up to the current problem of homelessness in Scotland.

• Peter Vardy is chief executive officer of Peter Vardy Ltd