Dozens of business owners, managers and community leaders braved Thursday night's chill for the annual Vinnies CEO Sleepout.
Sixty people registered to sleep outside at McDonald Jones Stadium for the event, which supports Vinnies' Matthew Talbot homelessness service at Wickham.
Participants were only given a few pieces of cardboard to sleep on with their sleeping bag or swag and had to use tokens to obtain food throughout the overnight event.
As well as getting a taste of sleeping in the elements, they also heard from people with lived experiences of being homeless.
Adamstown Bowling Club secretary manager Todd Rizzoli took part in the sleepout for the first time this year. He had been thinking about it for a few years as others at the club had done it, and after watching a news program about a homelessness service in need of funding, he decided it was time.
"I got a push from my club president, and that was enough for me," Mr Rizzoli said.
But hearing from someone on the night who had been homeless made it hit home even more.
"It was pretty scary to be honest," he said. "He said he got kicked out of home and stayed out, ended up with hypothermia and had nowhere to go then Vinnies helped him out.
"We had the chance to either sleep undercover or go outside and after hearing that I thought no I'm here for the one night I'm going to do it properly."
St Vincent De Paul regional director Clare Van Doorn said the experiential really had an impact on the CEOs.
"Quite often, they may never see that," she said. "I'm so appreciative to the people who have shared their stories. Life hasn't been great to them but they've survived it."
Ms Van Doorn said the sleepout event was particularly crucial this year
"There's a housing crisis at the moment so it is so imperative that we have the funds to be able to make sure that we can house people as best we can," she said. "Matthew Talbot homeless service has never had a waiting list and now we do.
"In Newcastle alone we have 500 people who are homeless or near homeless so for us to be able to provide accommodation we need these funds."
The Newcastle event was one of three held in NSW - with simultaneous sleepouts in Sydney and Wollongong. Travel Guides stars Mark and Cathy Fren hosted the Newcastle sleepout and took part in a live cross with Channel 9.
"We're passionate about anything that involves Newcastle but hearing the plight of some of these people, there's some really sad stories out there, so hopefully we can encourage the CEOs to reach deep into their pockets to help," Mr Fren said.
