AN INITIATIVE which aims to reduce homelessness is celebrating its 10th birthday.

CEO Sleepout, which was launched in Middlesbrough to reduce homelessness, is returning to the Riverside Stadium to celebrate the milestone.

The initiative aims to raise awareness and vital funds to support homelessness across the country by encouraging business people to spend a night sleeping out in the cold to gain a better understanding of what homelessness means.

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So far, there have been nine sleepouts in Middlesbrough, one every year since it was launched, and this year’s event will take place at the Riverside Stadium on March 30, back where it all began in 2013.

It is hoped that 100 participants will join CEO Sleepout at the end of the month to raise £50,000 to support homelessness in the region.

Most of the spaces for this special event have been taken and the charity organisers are urging anyone who wants to sign up to do so quickly.

Chief Executive of the charity Bianca Robinson says money raised will boost organisations that help families on the brink of destitution and homelessness across the Tees Valley.

She said: “I am so excited to bring CEO Sleepout back to where it all began, the Riverside Stadium, for our 10th anniversary.”

10 years ago, Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston developed the idea to hold a CEO Sleepout event through the charity he set up, The Teesside Charity – previously known as the Teesside and Middlesbrough Philanthropic Foundation.

He joined forces with Joanna Wake to promote the event and gained support from the local business community. The event raised £37,000, which was ploughed back into good causes on the frontline of homelessness and poverty across Teesside.

This year’s event is in partnership with Middlesbrough FC Foundation, The Teesside Charity and the Poverty Hurts Appeal (CDCF).

Funds raised from the sleepout will also support several other initiatives from across the region, including TRAC UK, Recovery Connections and Moses Project.