EDMONTON -- Edmontonians will come together to share a sleepless night for a good cause.
'A Sleepless Night' is hosted by Boyle Street Community Services. The event is meant to help raise awareness of homelessness and to end the stigma around living on the streets.
Ambassador engagement coordinator Sarah Dowling said night is a vulnerable time for the homeless.
“A lot of people are up all night long, making sure they are keeping themselves safe, surviving through the night. Which means a lot of our folks experience really major sleep deprivation,” Dowling explained. “It creates maybe an appearance of a lack of motivation during the day but really, it’s folks have been up all night long and that’s the time of day where they feel safest to get some sleep.”
According to Boyle Street Community Services, night is especially dangerous for youth and female-identifying clients.
Participants, staff and clients will tackle the wake-a-thon on Friday, April 24. They will stay awake and outside from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Funds raised throughout the event will support programming and services.
Boyle Street Community Services support people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton. On average they see between 250 and 300 individuals each day and as many as 850 people during the coldest night of the year.Boyle Street Community Services supports people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Dave Mitchell
