Sleep Out on Nov. 20 and Help End Youth Homelessness

Thousands of Covenant House supporters are taking action this November, Youth Homelessness Awareness Month, to support young people facing homelessness and help reverse the crisis that leaves millions of youth unhoused or unsafely housed each year.  

Sleep Out is in its 15^th year, with Covenant House sites in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico participating. This month alone, 22 Covenant House sites will hold Sleep Outs, where participants, called “Sleepers,” will spend one night sleeping uncomfortably outside in solidarity with homeless youth.  

They’ll raise critical funds to support Covenant House programs providing housing, safety, therapy, meals, education, and career development for youth overcoming homelessness in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.  

Through their fundraising efforts, Sleepers also raise awareness among their families, friends, coworkers, and communities about the youth homelessness crisis, which has deepened over the past 10 years. 

“Homelessness has been growing in the United States by about 12% annually,” says Covenant House CEO Bill Bedrossian. “That means that over the next 10 years, if we don’t do something now, the number of homeless youth will triple.”  

A Vision and a Movement for Change 

Covenant House’s strategic vision, The Journey Home, aims to confront the crisis and reverse it, cutting in half the number of young people living unhoused by 2035. Our North Star is to end youth homelessness as we know it today. 

Sleep Out is a reflection of the will that exists to come together and, as a growing movement, support realistic solutions.  

Since Sleep Out began in 2011, more than 65,000 people have raised over $170 million to fund Covenant House programs and services. The Journey Home has the power to amplify that impact even further. 

Through it, Covenant House will bolster homelessness prevention and aftercare programs to keep youth from experiencing homelessness or returning to it. At the same time, we’ll continue to deepen our high-quality direct services to meet homeless youth where they are and help them heal from their experiences and advance a better future. 

Join Us for Sleep Out this November 

Here are three ways you can get involved with Sleep Out. 

• Find an upcoming Sleep Out near you and Sleep Out.
• Start a Sleep Out: If you don’t see a Sleep Out in your community, create your own — and call on your family, friends, and community to join you.
• Fundraise: If you’re unable to attend a Sleep Out, consider supporting other Sleepers in your community. Make a donation or help spread the word.  

Sleep Out is a night of solidarity and so much more. It’s a night of purpose, when ending youth homelessness is actually within reach when we come together to build solutions.