SWANSEA BUSINESS WORLD BRAVES THE ELEMENTS: OVER 90 SLEEP ROUGH TO TACKLE YOUTH HOMELESSNESS

• Liberty Stadium sleep out smashes expectations
• Carolyn Harris MP drops in and pays tribute to Byte Night

Over 90 Swansea businesspeople have slept out in damp and chilly conditions on Friday (4 October) at the inaugural Byte Night Swansea event to raise money for leading UK children’s charity, Action for Children.

Teams from companies large and small across the region including Philtronics, Welsh Rugby Union, Swansea Bay Health Board, South Wales Police and Ospreys in the Community braved the cold at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea joining over 1000 others simultaneously sleeping out across 11 locations up and down the UK. Swansea East MP, Carolyn Harris also dropped into the fundraising part of the evening to lend her support. Organisers are aiming to raise £1million nationally in support of Action for Children services across Wales and the UK.

Government figures show there are currently more than 126,000 homeless children across the UK. And research from Action for Children reveals that poverty and homelessness is the top issue that children in Wales are concerned about. 56% of Welsh children said they are worried about people suffering because they don’t have enough money, such as homelessness.

Chair of the Swansea Byte Night board and Philtronics MD, Simon Pritchard, said: ‘It was a wonderful night of fundraising with Swansea responding brilliantly to smash our expectations with over 90 people sleeping out. I’m delighted we now have a Swansea Byte Night to raise awareness and help our projects here in Wales. It was a tough night sleeping out, but we all had the option of going home to a nice warm bed and a shower in the morning in contrast to far too many of our young people who don’t. It was night of great networking and comradery, but that fact was never far from our minds.

‘Action for Children runs vital services in and around Swansea that equip young people with basic skills from budgeting to housekeeping, ensuring they have a safe and loving place to call home. Byte Night is just one night sleeping under the stars that can make a lifetime’s difference to the many young people who find themselves on the street or sofa-surfing, unsure of what the future holds. All young people deserve a safe and loving place to call home and Byte Night was our chance to support those in our society who need it most.’

Carolyn Harris MP said: ‘I would like to pay tribute to all of the volunteers from local businesses who are braving the Welsh cold and sleeping out tonight, to raise money for the brilliant work that Action for Children do. I have witnessed first-hand the fantastic work of the charity and the transformative role they play in our local community and across the UK. Byte Night is a wonderful initiative and I hope that in partnership with similar events happening around Britain, they smash their fundraising target tonight.’

Action for Children’s national director for Wales, Brigitte Gater, said: “We want every child to have a safe and happy childhood, but sadly too many young people are falling into homelessness which leaves lasting scars on their mental health, education and relationships with friends and family.
‘Our critical work with vulnerable young people and families helps prevent the tragedy of homelessness by tackling the issues that can lead to young people ending up without a roof over their heads. From individual support for teenagers to working with families facing difficulties, our frontline services can prevent problems from spiralling out of control.

‘The country is facing a crisis of childhood and every penny raised from Byte Night helps Action for Children support some of our most vulnerable children and families. But we are also urging the government to take urgent steps to tackle the root causes of the problem by establishing a National Childhood Strategy to ensure all vulnerable children are well and safe.’