Business and community leaders to sleep rough

More than 60 people who took part in the inaugural Lifewise Big Sleepout last year. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Former Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard and city councillor Cathy Casey will be among business and community leaders to sleep rough in the city in July, part of a campaign to eliminate homelessness.

More than 60 people who took part in the inaugural Lifewise Big Sleepout last year, were handed a piece of cardboard and made to sleep on a concrete slab for one night.

Lifewise general manager John McCarthy said this year's event would attempt to make the experience of being homeless more realistic, with participants being asked to sleep in the open-air in mid-winter.

Others to have agreed to rough it this year include television personality Marc Ellis, Labour Party MP Jacinda Ardern and Green Party MPs Metiria Turei and Gareth Hughes.

The sleepout will be held at the Auckland University of Technology's city campus.

- NZPA