Shine A Light Night 2022
Focus Ireland's Shine a Light Night, proudly supported by Bord Gáis Energy, will take place on Friday 14 October 2022.
Shine A Light Night, proudly supported by Bord Gáis Energy, is taking place on Friday 14 October, where business leaders, companies and individuals will sleep out in their workplace, home, or gardens for one night to shine a light on homelessness in Ireland.
When you participate in Shine A Light Night, you help Focus Ireland to change the lives of families, young people and children who are without a place to call home.
Together, with the support of Bord Gáis Energy, the business community and public, we are aiming to raise €1.5 million in 2022 to support families and children experiencing homelessness across the country.
Register your interest in participating in Shine A Light Night and we will be in touch with you in the coming weeks with details on how to sign up for the sleep-out.
Support Children & Families
Shine A Light Night was launched in October 2012 where we invited business leaders to highlight homelessness. A total of 55 Irish business leaders participated and made the great effort to support this campaign by raising over €350,000 for Focus Ireland’s prevention services. Since the first sleep-out, we have received support from business leaders, companies, schools, and communities across Ireland, with over 100 business leaders, 400 corporate and 300 community supporters taking part last year to shine a light on homelessness by sleeping out for one night.
Since 2012, the homeless crisis has deepened. In May, we saw homelessness figures surpass 10,000, the highest figure recorded since before the pandemic due to a lack of affordable, secure housing in Ireland. Right now, there are 1,308 families, including 2,944 children without a home. These families can spend up to two years in a one-bedroom room in an emergency accommodation situation, which has a significant impact on mental health, self-esteem, and child development. However, homelessness would be much worse without the work of Focus Ireland. We are ending homelessness every day for families and individuals and our services are working hard to protect people who are currently homeless – especially children from the trauma caused by homelessness.
Bord Gáis Energy
Bord Gáis Energy has been supporting Focus Ireland since 2015, and 2022 marks the company’s fourth year sponsoring Shine A Light Night. Bord Gáis Energy has learnt the importance of giving back to those who need our help most, with employees, stakeholders and customers getting involved in volunteering efforts – something which has proved incredibly important in creating a meaningful CSR partnership with Focus Ireland. The collective efforts of these groups have raised over €8.1 million through Shine A Light Night, and Bord Gáis Energy has committed more than €4.4 million to help combat family homelessness. The partnership has already directly supported over 7,000 families experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing their home. Over the next five years, Bord Gáis Energy and Focus Ireland will work together to assist a further 10,000 families through advice, information and support programmes, and directly prevent 1,000 families from ever entering homelessness.
