The mayor of Wellington will swap her usual Friday night routine tonight, for a night of sleeping rough in an effort to raise money for the homeless.

The Salvation Army's 14 Hours Homeless event sees teams trying to raise $5000 as part of World Homeless Day.

Celia Wade-Brown says it's part of a city-wide push to help out the most vulnerable people.

"We're aiming to end homelessness in the capital by 2020 by working together with a joined up approach, so that we can support people who are homeless into a more positive pathway."

Ms Wade-Brown says she's not expecting it to be as bad as what many people have to face every night.

"First of all it's not raining, so that'll be fine. Secondly I've got a really good sleeping bag so it's not altogether comparable to people who have been sleeping rough."