Covenant House Illinois Goes 'Virtual' with Annual SLEEP OUT

On any given night in Chicago, approximately 3,000 youth are homeless (according to Chicago Coalition for the Homeless) and without a place to sleep. With only 375 units of housing in the city to support this exceptionally vulnerable population, many are left to the streets.

To raise awareness and critical funds for youth homelessness, Covenant House Illinois hosts two SLEEP OUT fundraisers at St. James Commons each year which invite participants to give up the comfort of their bed for one night and sleep outside. The November SLEEP OUT features business leaders and young professionals and has raised over $650,000 from 2017 -2019 while the June SLEEP OUT is made up of female professionals and community leaders and raised over $50,000 in 2019.

On Thursday, June 4th at 7:00 p.m., Covenant House will host the “Women Unite Againgst Homelessness Virtual SLEEP OUT” due to the current pandemic, it will be virtual. Participants are invited to create a meaningful “sleep out” experience from home by setting up an individual or team fundraising page and spreading the word to friends, family colleagues. The evening will include a one-hour video program featuring a variety of speakers and Covenant House youth discussing and sharing personal stories. Afterwards, each participant is asked to sleep somewhere other than their bed for the night.

“I think it’s very easy for many to take for granted the roof we have over our head, the bed we sleep on every night and the meals we eat each day. During COVID-19 Covenant House Illinois’ doors remains open to serve youth with the daily essentials such as a hot shower, meals, a warm bed and wrap-around services that are desperaterly needed for becoming self sufficient,” explains Cheryl Hamilton-Hill, Covenant House Illnois-CEO. “We are raising awareness with this vulnerable population and ask that you open your heart and continue to support us, as we do our part supporting youth that are expericing homelessness.”

Covenant House Illinois opened its doors in February 2017 and has received over 22,616 visits by more than 735 while providing 71,949 in services to young people in Chicago ages 18-24. The Development Center is open for daytime programming seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. and normally serves up to 40 youth, however, due to social distancing guidelines can only serve up to 5 right now. In addition, Covenant House Illinois has a 12-bed residential program that offers interim housing. Overall, Covenant House Illinois provides a safe and caring environment, with access to immediate resources, such as food and laundry, as well as workforce training and job placement, case management, and wraparound services. Through agreements with leading Chicago agencies, young people can also access physical and mental healthcare, substance abuse, and legal services on-site.

While the Covenant House Illinois team and youth have remained COVID-19 free, the organization is in need of supplies such as hand sanitizer, toilet paper, vitamin C, thermometers, food gloves, latex gloves, Hand Sanitizer, alcohol wipes, paper plates, disinfectant spray, bleach, paper towels, laundry detergent, shampoo & conditioner, feminine products, vaseline, and lotion.

For more information about “Women Unite Against Homelessness Virtual SLEEP OUT,” please visit www.covenanthouseil.org or sign up here. To donate please visit https://www.covenanthouseil.org/donate or supplies can be dropped off curbside at 30 W Chicago Avenue ‘by appointment only’ through chamilton-hill@covenanthouseil.org.

About Covenant House

Covenant House is more than a homeless shelter. For over four decades, it has helped transform the lives of more than one million homeless, runaway and trafficked young people by offering housing and support services to youth in need. Annually, Covenant House cares for more than 80,000 homeless and trafficked youth in 31 cities across the U.S., Canada and Latin America.