Youth Homelessness Awareness Month

We do. And so does data from the Department of Urban Housing and Development, the largest researcher of youth in the country. As the two largest organizations in the U.S. studying youth and kids who become homeless, we can see the full picture.

Youth homelessness is a growing crisis that is at a tipping point. If we do nothing, our joint studies show that the population will triple in the next ten years. Youth homelessness sits at the crossroads of poverty, housing affordability and availability, and mental health. On our current course, these problems will get worse over the next ten years, not better. All of them lead to exponential growth of youth homelessness.

Great question. The good news is that Covenant House and our partners have put a lot of effort into answering that question over the last 50+ years. We’ve studied, tested, and seen the results.

The answer is housing paired with wraparound services that help youth heal from the trauma of being homeless. Young people need support from all sides, be it mental health support, education and job training, physical healthcare, and most importantly a safe, stable, place to call home long-term. So that’s what Covenant House provides today.

We offer crisis shelter for homeless youth, where they can get food, a bed, and services they need to get back on their feet. But then we don’t just drop them into an apartment. We move each young person into the kind of housing that will best serve their individual situation. And we make sure that even after they leave Covenant House, they still have access to services they need to stay stably housed and avoid chronic adult homelessness.

Not immediately. We know what the solutions are, but it will take a lot of work to make them happen. Here are the biggest missing pieces for us to end youth homelessness:

• Affordable-for-Youth Housing.
• Crisis shelters that can change a homeless youth’s situation immediately.
• Services that meet all young people where they are, and prevent them from becoming homeless again.

First, Affordable-for-Youth Housing is housing priced at 30% of what a young person makes, even at minimum wage. It’s not based on area median income, as other affordable housing is, because “affordable” housing is often 2-3x as expensive as the entire yearly salary of an 18 year old high school student. We need to build more of it, and designate it to be used by youth so they can use it as a stepping stone out of homelessness. The great part is that Covenant House has already built and operates Affordable-for-Youth housing, and it really works! We just need to get the word out about it and get people on board to build more of it.

Next, we still need to do the work we’ve been doing for the last 50 years: provide crisis services for youth experiencing homelessness. Our goal is not to try to make it so that no one ever experiences homelessness at any point—that’s not a realistic goal. Our goal is that any time a youth experiences homelessness it’s rare, brief, and non-recurring. We can make that happen, and provide our services to more young people than we ever have before. Every youth deserves unconditional love, absolute respect, and relentless support, and that’s what we provide at Covenant House.

Finally, services for all youth who are rebuilding their lives after being homeless. We know that just giving someone a place to live isn’t enough. To sustain an independent and productive life, youth need a number of critical services. They need job training support to get them into a career that will allow them to break the cycles of poverty and homelessness. They need physical and mental healthcare to overcome the brutal traumas many of them experienced as children. They need community and care, to keep them on the path and prevent them from succumbing to loneliness and fear.

We can’t look away. We must face this crisis. We have to make a change for our future.

And that’s where you, our community, can make the difference.

Affordable-for-Youth Housing, crisis shelters, and supportive services for all youth, are three areas Covenant House is looking to expand on in cities across the U.S.. Whether you join us this November or throughout the year, you can help youth get those services.

Youth Homelessness Awareness Month Events

Take action with us this November.

• Start by taking the action pledge. We'll alert you to impactful actions you can take throughout the month.
• Nov. 6: Join the rally in Times Square, and demand that we change the course of the youth homelessness crisis.
• Nov. 20-21: Attend our global Sleep Out and raise awareness and funds.

Get Informed

Understand the key issues behind the youth homelessness crisis. Learn how to spot the signs when a young person is facing homelessness or human trafficking.

Volunteer with Covenant House

• Participate with your company by packing kits with essentials for youth at Covenant House or hosting a lunch & learn to find out how your organization can partner with us to support youth facing homelessness.
• Volunteer at a Covenant House site near you.

Show Compassion and Care

Show compassion and care to someone experiencing homelessness. Give Today