Just as the tail end of the yellow weather warning died down, 37 staff and students from AIT Slept Out for Midlands Simon Community on Tuesday night, raising some €3,000 for the local homeless charity.
The underground car park on the grounds of AIT was converted to a make-shift dormitory as everyone settled in for a long, uncomfortable, and insightful night ahead. Coordinator Declan O’Connor described the night as “cold, blustery, and definitely not a night to sleep in a car park”.
The event has become an annual part of AIT Simon Society’s annual fundraising.
AIT staff and students were entertained by local bands, Mimic and Higgsboson played at points throughout the night to help keep spirits high.
Reality wasn’t long kicking in when night fell and the cold set in and participants discovered that they were experiencing what it’s like for people who sleep rough not by choice on a blustery October night.
Midlands Simon Community is very grateful to Athlone IT, their staff, and students for their continued support and empathy with the cause of homelessness.
Organisers would like to thank the 37 people who slept out for Simon. That one night, while only a small insight into homelessness, is an eye-opening, saddening, and striking reality that people in Ireland experience every day.
