MERCY Mounthawk students are set to spend a night sleeping outside the school gym next week to highlight the homelessness issue.

On Friday, January 21, the transition year students will take part in the event and the following morning – feeling suitably cold and unrested we imagine – they will be collecting in Manor West with all funds going to the homeless charity, Focus Ireland.

The students are part of the transition year Young Social Innovators Group.

“We, as a group, believe that the first step in understanding what homelessness feels like, we should experience it for ourselves,” said YSI Group member Katie Ryan.

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“We have been involved in other events such as our school open day, but this is only the beginning to the things we hope to do in order to raise awareness and hopefully make a change in our town,” she said.

The group have support from Tralee Chamber Alliance President John Drummey and  Minister Jimmy Deenihan but would hugely appreciate help from the general public.

You can follow their journey on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.