Sleep Out for Covenant House
On August 24, I will stay in and Sleep Out.
I am giving up my bed for one night so that young people can sleep safely at Covenant House.
The Sleep Out is not about pretending to be homeless. It’s an act of solidarity with the 4.2 million young people who experience homelessness each year. It's also a fundraiser, to ensure that Covenant House remains open 24/7 for youth seeking shelter.
The one thing I can never truly imagine being is homeless, especially being a young homeless person. In a country as wealthy as ours, nobody should be without the ultimate basic necessities like food and shelter. For several years now I've wanted to participate in Covent House's Sleep out, and with the pandemic forcing many people into dire situations they would not have imagined half a year ago, like having to shelter with a domestic abuser, with sleeping on the street as their only alternative, the time is now. Let's help as many people as we can find safety, comfort, and guidance towards a brighter future. When the neediest of us are cared for, our whole society is lifted up. I know times are hard, but just imagine how much harder it would be if you didn’t have a bed to call your own. Please give whatever you can to support these young people! Doesn’t matter if it’s a dime, dollar, or a hundred. Everything helps!
About Covenant House
Covenant House offers youth facing homelessness much more than a safe place to sleep. Their doors are always open. Staff welcome each young person with absolute respect and unconditional love, and provide them with a continuum of care that includes job training, educational programs, health care, counseling, and legal aid: all designed to help young people transition from homelessness to independence.
Race and Homelessness:
Among all young people facing homelessness in the United States, young people of color are particularly at risk. Chapin Hall of the University of Chicago estimates that for Black and African American youth, the risk of homelessness is 83% higher and for nonwhite Hispanic or Latinx youth, it is 33% higher than it is for their white peers.
Foster kids and Homelessness:
According to the U.S. Administration for Children and Families (ACF), by age 21, at least 26% of young people who aged out of foster care in the United States experienced a period or more of homelessness; a third lacked a high school diploma; and 25% had no health insurance. A quarter of these youth already had fathered or given birth to a child.
Why Do Human Traffickers Target Kids Facing Homelessness?
In our long experience helping more than 1.5 million vulnerable children and youth in North and Central America, Covenant House has identified a direct correlation between youth homelessness and becoming a victim of human trafficking.
Why do human traffickers target kids facing homelessness? Because these young people present a low-risk business proposition and are relatively easy to lure from the streets with promises of love, protection, food, and financial security. Because of their vulnerability, children and teens with no place to call home and no one to care for them make easy prey for traffickers.
Help me help young people overcoming homelessness. Make a donation to my Sleep Out by clicking the “Support Me” button above.
I can’t do this without you. Thank you!
