SleepOut is a night spent outside each March to expand our collective consciousness about youth homelessness in New Hampshire and raise funds to address critical needs that will help transform lives.
About Sleep Out
Through our annual SleepOut event, Waypoint raises community awareness and funds to aid homeless youth. It is a night spent out in the cold each March to feel just a little bit of what homeless youth experience.
SleepOut is our organization’s premiere event to directly support the state’s only overnight youth shelter in Manchester, as well as our drop-in centers in Concord and Rochester. The 2024 SleepOut will be our 10th anniversary event and we are hoping for a record turnout to help end youth homelessness in New Hampshire. In-person SleepOuts will take place in Manchester, Concord, and Rochester, and individuals can virtually sleep out at other locations of their choice.
Here is how you can help.
- Volunteer to be a “sleeper” and spend the night outside at a specific location with others, either as an individual or with friends and colleagues. Sleepers will be given tools to help obtain pledges from friends and colleagues to meet a minimum fundraising goal of $100.
- Organize a team of sleepers from your business and work colleagues, friends, or family. A collective effort is a great way to support this cause, and your organization may match the funds raised by participants. We’ll provide you with promotional tools to make it easy to coordinate a team.
- Encourage your company to become a corporate sponsor. We have many opportunities to promote your involvement and are happy to discuss options.
- Donate online to contribute to SleepOut directly or support an individual sleeper. You can contribute to a sleeper or sleeper team’s campaign by clicking the button, “Support a Sleeper,” which will bring you to our fundraising platform. You then click the button “Find a Fundraiser” to search for the sleeper you want to support.
To learn how to help us support homeless youth through SleepOut, please contact Cindy Stewart at 603.518.4205 or stewartc@waypointnh.org.
Youth Homelessness in NH
Almost 15,000 youth are likely to experience some form of homelessness in New Hampshire this year. Most people are surprised that the number is so high – primarily because youth homelessness tends to be an almost invisible problem.
You can’t always tell if a youth is homeless. Some are in school. Some have jobs. Some look like any other kid walking down the street with a backpack.
But they are struggling. Some are escaping abusive or neglectful homes, or have been rejected from their own families for their sexual identity or orientation. Some wrestle with trauma, mental illness, or addiction. Some are hungry, cold, scared, and are taking desperate measures to survive. Some will fall prey to human trafficking. And most are flying under the radar of their own communities.
Waypoint's Response to Youth Homelessness
Waypoint is the only agency in NH that provides comprehensive services for young people who are experiencing homelessness.
The Street Outreach team puts boots on the ground and serves as a lifeline to at-risk youth, offering two essential things: the basic elements to survive and the stuff with which to succeed.
The Runaway & Homeless Youth Program provides crisis intervention and prevention in schools and the community, and can help youth resolve family conflict.
The Youth Resource Centers in Concord, Manchester, and Rochester provide access to basic needs such as food, clothes, showers, and laundry, as well as life-changing services such as mental health counseling, substance misuse treatment, educational advocacy, job skills training, and more.
The Transitional Living Program provides housing and supportive services to youth experiencing or on brink of homelessness as they advance toward self-sufficiency and success.
The Rapid Rehousing Program provides short-term rental assistance and services to young people experiencing homelessness so they can obtain housing quickly, establish stability, and increase long-term self-sufficiency.
Overnight emergency shelter provides a safety net for youth experiencing homelessness in Manchester.
