Senior executives and business founders are being invited to spend a night in the open air to generate support and financial assistance for services helping those without stable accommodation.
The Oxfordshire Homeless Movement will host its CEO Sleepout Oxford event at Oxford University Parks, gathering more than 60 leaders from the business community.
Participants will sleep outside to demonstrate solidarity with individuals facing homelessness in the county.
Those taking part are asked to secure pledges of at least one thousand pounds, with funds directed toward the organisation’s partner charities and schemes operating on the ground.
Yvonne Pinner, who serves as project director for the movement, stated that addressing homelessness requires involvement from across the business sector.
She noted that Oxfordshire’s commercial community possesses both influence and a strong commitment to social responsibility, and this initiative offers a practical way to channel those qualities toward meaningful change.
Pinner emphasised that a single night spent outdoors cannot replicate the daily fear, instability and risk faced by someone without secure housing, though the experience can foster greater understanding, spark necessary discussions and bring in essential funding for services assisting vulnerable residents throughout the county.
The gathering, arranged in conjunction with the national CEO Sleepout programme, will include presentations from individuals who have personally encountered homelessness alongside information about the front-line organisations working to deliver sustainable solutions in Oxfordshire.
Over the previous four years, the movement’s sleepout events have collected in excess of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds for community-based initiatives, including newer projects specifically targeting women experiencing homelessness.
Sasha East, who has previously found herself without permanent accommodation and received assistance through the movement’s programmes, described how she was forced to flee and take shelter in locations such as outbuildings, remaining hidden and deeply frightened.
She expressed gratitude for the movement’s efforts and specifically welcomed its focus on women sleeping without shelter.
East highlighted that women’s circumstances can differ substantially and stressed the importance of acknowledging these differences while considering what steps can be taken locally to improve outcomes for those affected.
The two thousand and twenty-five Women’s Rough Sleeping Census documented one thousand four hundred and six women sleeping rough nationwide during the preceding quarter, though almost two-thirds had stayed in locations that fall outside official statistics.
The Oxfordshire Homeless Movement coordinated the county’s participation in the census during two thousand and twenty-four and two thousand and twenty-five, and will continue this work in two thousand and twenty-six.
The event welcomes involvement from any business, with organisations able to nominate senior staff members or departmental teams, provide sponsorship or assist in spreading awareness through their professional contacts.
Registration remains open with no cap on participant numbers.
The sleepout is scheduled to take place on the eighth of October.
Those wishing to take part or obtain additional information may do so through the official event website or by contacting Yvonne Pinner directly via electronic mail.