CALL THE MIDWIFE STAR JENNY AGUTTER, CALLS ON WELSH RESIDENTS TO HELP PREVENT YOUTH HOMELESSNESS

Dear Editor,

Family breakdown, mental health issues and abuse in the home are just a few of the causes which lead to young people becoming homeless. Action for Children believes that every child has the right to a safe and loving home and supports many young people towards this goal. Unfortunately, so many more still need our help.

On October 5th this year Action for Children will once again host Byte Night, a UK-wide fundraising ‘sleepout’ event. Thousands of people at 12 locations across the UK, will be giving up their bed for one night to help raise money to change the lives of young people at risk of homelessness.

Spending the night exposed to the elements is a challenge but in the morning, all those taking part will be able to go home, take a shower and sleep in a comfortable bed. Sadly, there are too many vulnerable young people in the South West for whom this is simply not possible.

Last year’s Byte Night raised over £1.2 million and this year we hope to raise even more. I’m urging your readers in Wales to help us make this possible, either by making a donation or finding out about how their company can get involved in Byte Night at bytenight.org.uk

Thank you.

Jenny Agutter
Action for Children Ambassador

About Byte Night

• To find out more about Byte Night please visit bytenight.org.uk or contact the Byte Night team on bytenight@actionforchildren.org.uk. Registrations can be done individually, or as a team. To register, go to bytenight.org.uk
• At Action for Children we see young people ending up on the streets as an absolute last resort. Last year we helped nearly 2,000 children and young people who were vulnerable to homelessness.
• Byte Night is the UK’s biggest sponsored corporate sleepout event, raising millions of pounds in support of vulnerable children and young people since it launched in 1998. Thirty individuals slept out at the first event and raised £35,000 – last year over 1500 people slept out and over £10million has been raised to date.
• Byte Night locations for 2018: East Anglia (Cambridge), London, Midlands (Birmingham), North East (Gateshead), Northern Ireland (Belfast), North West (Salford), Scotland East (Edinburgh) Scotland West (Glasgow), South West (Bristol), Thames Valley (Reading), Yorkshire (Leeds), Wales (Cardiff)