Real-life ‘IT Crowd’ support Byte Night event

One out of every 100 young people experience some form of homelessness each year

Professionals in the IT industry from all over the UK are preparing to sleep rough on the streets tonight in aid of charity.

Byte Night is an annual event, now in its 13th year, in aid of the charity for youth homelessness, Action for Children. It aims to raise £500,000, with more than 600 IT professionals expected to take part in the sleep out.

Senior executives from the likes of Norton Rose, RBS, KPMG, BT, Cisco and Citrix will bed down alongside junior staff at ‘sleep outs’ in London, Manchester, Cambridge, Edinburgh and the Thames Valley. Chris O’Dowd, star of C4’s hit television show The IT Crowd, will also join them.

“From one IT person to another, please support Byte Night,” said O’Dowd. “This year, 75,000 young people will experience homelessness for one reason or another, and life on the streets is dangerous.”

The charity also cited research from the Rowntree Report into youth homelessness, which found that one out of every 100 young people experience some form of homelessness each year.

The money raised through Byte Night is used to enable the charity to provide these vulnerable young people with secure accommodation, training, education and employment.

Since the first event took place in 1998, the event has raised over £2.5 million, funding Action for Children project centres and initiatives around the country.

Byte Night founder Ken Deeks said participants tend to hope for rain and cold during Byte Night.

“I know it sounds odd. It’s not pleasant, but experiencing harsh conditions on the night is a great leveller. It really makes us appreciate what these vulnerable young people will have to face as we approach winter,” he explained.

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