A team from Ardenglen Housing Association has signed up to Sleep in the Park.

Five members of staff will be sleeping under the stars at Kelvingrove Park on December 8 for the event aimed at defeating homelessness.

And this week the philanthropist John Watson OBE, who is helping to fund the Glasgow event through ‘The Watson Foundation’, praised the involvement of the housing association.

He said: “I applaud the participation of the Ardenglen team. We know all too well of the inspiring work this housing association does in Castlemilk.

“The housing association movement of which Ardenglen is a key part does the most amazing work across Scotland not just in building homes but revitalising communities. So it is entirely appropriate that Ardenglen should be involved in the fight to end homelessness forever and we thank the housing association for its participation.”

The five members who are taking part are: Audrey Simpson, Diane Hendry, Leanne McGowan, Kerri Downie and Allana Hammell.

Thousands are expected to take part in the huge gathering also being held in Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Josh Littlejohn MBE, co-founder of Social Bite - which is behind the event - has agreed to meet the Ardenglen staff on the night.

Last year 8,000 people joined the world’s largest sleep out in Princes St Gardens and raised £4 million which funded a raft of major projects. Now the organisers want to keep up the momentum and have asked 12,000 people across four cities to join them in this year’s nationwide sleep out.

The organisers say: “By raising money and working together we can accelerate the pace of change in Scotland and create the political mandate to end homelessness here.”

Ardenglen chief executive Audrey Simpson said: “We are proud to be doing our bit. Sleep in the Park has electrified the debate on homelessness and engaged people across the country to come together and end it for good.”

They will be taking with them a banner specially produced by Ardenglen’s ‘Sew Fabulous’ group which offers the opportunity to learn new skills through the manufacture of textile goods from reclaimed fabrics.