From Thursday to Sunday the bed will be occupied by artists, musicians, housing advocates and members of the community who are raising awareness of homelessness in Canberra.

The Winter Bed Vigil is aimed at starting conversations about homelessness and raising funds for Common Ground Canberra, an organisation dedicated to ending homelessness.

In the 2011 census there were 1785 homeless people in Canberra, up from 946 in 2006.

The opening of the Winter Bed Vigil saw speakers from activist groups share their stories about homelessness.

Bushfire survivor Jane Smyth was part of a group who inspired the Winter Bed Vigil when they recognised the large numbers of people who had no home nor any hope of a home unless they had support.

''A number of us who lost our homes in the 2003 ACT bushfires who had known that terrible feeling of homelessness, even if briefly - try to imagine what it might be like to know we would never have a home or a place that was safe to be,'' she said.

''These are people we do not know and most of us will never meet them; they need us, however, to advocate for them.''

Founder of the Common Ground Canberra board, Elizabeth Dawson, shared a story from her days working in a women's refuge about a woman who was going to be evicted for breaking a rule.

She said it made her mad to think more could not be done to help people facing homelessness.

''All we could offer was a taxi ride and one night in a motel and her words have stayed with me and rung in my ears ever since. She said, 'You mean you want me to go and kill myself in a hotel?'''

Big Issue vendor Deb Bult cut the ribbon on the bed, officially opening the Winter Bed Vigil for 2013.

Ms Bult said she had been homeless many times in her life. ''It's not an easy thing to be and if I can do something to help one person not be homeless, that's great,'' she said.