Some Vancouver business leaders will give up their beds on Thursday night and sleep in an alley to raise awareness about youth homelessness.
Participants of the annual Sleep Out will also be raising money to help make sure at-risk youth have access to services.
“Sleep Out is not about pretending to be homeless,” Covenant House’s Deb Lester explained to 1130 NewsRadio. “[It’s] really more of a powerful message to advocate for young people in our community and send a message to those young people that we see you.”
Participants in Vancouver will be joined by thousands across North America.
“It’s very empowering, too, in terms of our way forward and how we can best support young people in our area,” Lester shared, adding that she’ll be participating in this year’s event.
With the intersection of housing, health, and homelessness crises in Vancouver, Lester believes the need is greater than ever.
“[Participants will be] in the back alley of one of our buildings on Drake and Seymour, and they will be there from 10 o’clock at night, sleeping out until about five or 5:30 in the morning,” Lester shared.
Funds raised will go toward Covenant House Vancouver’s Crisis Program which provides young people with shelter, support, and a “path to a brighter future.”