A WARM gesture on a freezing cold night helped raise a staggering among for people who need it most this Christmas.
As the winds from Storm Darragh were dying down this past Saturday night (December 7), homeless charity Novas was hosting its annual Christmas Sleep-Out on the streets of Limerick City.
The chilly fundraiser saw more than 30 people brave the biting cold to bed down outside Brown Thomas on O’Connell Street for the night. Their resulting efforts saw more than €30,000 raised for the Novas homelessness charity.
The annual sleep-out is an opportunity “to put a spotlight on growing homeless figures in the region, particularly those who are forced to sleep on the street”, as well as raise funds to help the organisation to reach the people who need it most.
Founded in 2002, Novas provides direct services for individuals, families, and children experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.
In Limerick, Novas provides emergency homeless accommodation, social housing, health and recovery services, family support services, and street outreach.
“The collective effort of the sleep-out made all the difference,” said Jackie Leonard, head of fundraising at Novas, noting how “unimaginably difficult it is for people to face such conditions every night, in terms of personal safety and inclement weather. This event gave us the briefest glimpse into how hard it is to be homeless, to have nowhere safe to go at the end of the day and to constantly be out of doors.”
Donations to the campaign can still be made on novas.ie/novas-sleep-out-is-back.
