The 11th annual Waypoint SleepOut on March 21 will raise awareness and funds to address critical needs to help end youth homelessness in New Hampshire. The experiential fundraising event supports vital services for youth experiencing homelessness, including the state’s only low-barrier emergency youth shelter, youth drop-in centers in Manchester and Rochester, and a range of supports that help young people achieve long-term stability.
On March 21, SleepOut will kick-off with an in-person gathering at Manchester’s Bronstein Park (Hanover and Beech streets), across the street from Waypoint’s Emergency Youth Shelter. The gathering at Bronstein Park will be from 6:30PM – 8:30PM and is an opportunity to hear accounts of young people who are experiencing homelessness and those with inspirational stories of success to share. The event also features Waypoint’s Artist in Residency Program, which provides opportunities for healing and skill building through art. There is a memorial planned to remember young people lost to homelessness as well as a tribute to the hundreds of young Granite Staters who experience homelessness annually. All are welcome to join.
This year, instead of sleeping outside together as a public demonstration of support for youth experiencing homelessness, Advocates will sleep remotely outside at a location of choice. This change is necessary as a direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in July 2024 regarding Grants Pass vs. Johnson, which allows municipalities to criminalize sleeping in public places.
“While SleepOut traditionally brings people together as a group to sleep outside to raise awareness, the Supreme Court ruling over the summer made it allowable to criminalize homelessness,” said Borja Alvarez de Toledo, President and CEO of Waypoint. “Our young people can now be fined simply for having nowhere to go.”
Each year an estimated 15,000 young people experience homelessness across the Granite State. Waypoint is the sole provider of comprehensive services for young people between the ages of 12 and 24 at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
“Too many young people in our state are either homeless or at risk and facing significant challenges to finding a safe home,” said Mandy Lancaster, Director of Waypoint’s Homeless Youth and Young Adult Program. “Through SleepOut, our goal is to end youth homelessness in New Hampshire.”
Over the past decade, SleepOut has raised $2.9 million for programs in support of young people experiencing homelessness. For more information, visit WaypointNH.org/SleepOut.
