Building a Bridge to Hope
For more than fifty years, Covenant House has been a lifeline for young people facing homelessness. With doors open around the clock in 34 cities — including right here in New York — the organization has built what it calls “a bridge to hope” through unconditional love, absolute respect, and relentless support.
“Ending youth homelessness as we know it is our North Star,” a Covenant House representative explains. “We meet young people wherever they are, through prevention, intervention, and restoration — and empower them to build strength and confidence for the future.”
Each year, thousands of young New Yorkers experience homelessness. Covenant House responds with more than just a roof. Its programs offer outreach, food, medical and mental health care, education, legal aid, workforce development, and life-skills training, all tailored to each individual’s needs. “The least interesting thing about the youth we serve is that they are homeless,” the team emphasizes. “They’re artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, and dreamers. What they need most is holistic support, and that looks different for every person who walks through our doors.”
The Power of One Night
Perhaps no initiative captures the spirit of Covenant House better than its Sleep Out, a night when advocates, supporters, and alumni give up their beds to raise awareness and funds for youth experiencing homelessness.
“It’s one uncomfortable night for participants — and a lifetime of opportunity for the youth in our care,” says a Covenant House staff member. “Sleep Out allows passionate advocates, experts, and young people themselves to speak up about ending youth homelessness. It grows awareness among people who might not have thought deeply about this crisis before.”
Each event is both humbling and deeply humanizing. Volunteer Ashleigh described her experience this way: “This work is life-changing, not just for the youth we support, but for us as well. The joy, the fulfillment, the purpose you feel, it’s indescribable.”
The Stage & Screen Sleep Out in August has become a beloved Broadway tradition since its start in 2013. Co-chaired this year by six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and Broadway producer Kevin Ryan, the night ends with participants joining together to sing “Lean on Me,” a song dedicated to the young people at Covenant House. The moment, quiet and collective, captures the heart of what the organization stands for: community, solidarity, and the belief that no one should have to face life alone and without a place to call home.
The Journey Home
While direct service is central to Covenant House’s mission, the organization is equally focused on prevention, addressing the systemic roots of homelessness through research, education, and advocacy. Its newest initiative, The Journey Home, aims to reduce youth homelessness in the U.S. and Canada by half over the next decade.
“At the heart of this vision is affordable-for-youth housing,” says the team. “When young people go looking for housing, the market has nothing for them. Rents for so-called ‘affordable’ apartments are out of reach, and most programs are short-term or not designed with youth in mind.”
Covenant House’s approach reframes housing as a foundation for stability. Affordable-for-youth housing is designed to be accessible for young people with low incomes or starter salaries, particularly those aging out of care systems or recovering from trauma. It’s a long-term solution aimed not just at sheltering youth, but at giving them the footing to build a lifetime of security and independence.
Taking Action This Fall
November is Youth Homelessness Awareness Month, and Covenant House is challenging all of us to act boldly. The Sleep Out remains at the heart of that effort — a call to spend one night outside so young people can sleep safely inside.
The organization is also hosting the Rally to End Youth Homelessness in Times Square on Thursday, November 6, bringing together young people, advocates, and artists in a public demand for housing and change. “This month is all about action,” says the team. “We want to inspire people to take steps — large and small — to help end youth homelessness as we know it.”
From rallying in the streets to joining corporate volunteer events, every effort brings Covenant House closer to its vision of a world where every young person has a safe place to sleep and the support to pursue their dreams.
Because for every youth who walks through its doors, Covenant House offers not just shelter, but possibility, and a reminder that hope, when shared, multiplies.
