SleepOut on March 21, 2025 to help end youth homelessness in NH
Manchester, N.H. (November 21, 2024) – During November’s National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, Waypoint announces the date of the 11th annual SleepOut on March 21, 2025. With a goal to end youth homelessness in NH, SleepOut is a night spent outside each March to raise awareness and funds to address critical needs and transform lives. The experiential event supports New Hampshire’s only low-barrier emergency youth shelter and safe space located in Manchester, youth drop-in centers in Manchester and Rochester, and a range of support services that help lead to long-term stability.
“Youth homelessness is hard, dangerous and preventable,” said Borja Alvarez de Toledo, President and CEO of Waypoint. “Every young person deserves a bed and a place they can call home, but this is just not possible for many young people in our state. There are many consequences associated with youth homelessness, including long-lasting trauma, health problems and the risk of becoming chronically homeless as adults. Through SleepOut, our goal is to end youth homelessness in New Hampshire.”
Each year an estimated 15,000 young people experience homelessness across the Granite State. At least 70 percent of them do not have the option to return to a safe and stable home. Through SleepOut, participants serve as Advocates and spend a night outside in the cold to stand in solidarity with these young people and fundraise through their personal networks.
“I feel like most people do not understand that a lot of youth homelessness is caused by external factors like big family issues, safety or not having the right guidance to adulthood,” said a young person requesting anonymity who is experiencing homelessness in NH and is being supported by Waypoint. “This creates stigma around what youth homelessness looks like.”
As the sole provider of comprehensive services for young people between the ages of 12 and 24 at risk for or experiencing homelessness, Waypoint offers resources for a safe night’s sleep and a range of support services that lead to long-term stability. The 14-bed shelter in Manchester is the state’s only low-barrier shelter and safe space dedicated to young people ages 18 to 24 with services tailored to their unique developmental needs and individualized care. Waypoint also provides runaway and homeless youth prevention, street outreach, transitional housing and rapid rehousing services.
Mandy Lancaster, Director of Waypoint’s Homeless Youth and Young Adult Program said, “The young people we work with are determined. They have grit. They are survivors. They want to be seen and heard. They want the community to help keep them safe. They want to build a future that includes stability and support. With help and the right community supports in place, they can.”
An in-person gathering will take place at Manchester’s Bronstein Park (Hanover and Beech streets) on March 21 followed by remote SleepOuts at a non-public location of choice for Advocates across the Granite State, instead of sleeping outside together as a public demonstration of support. This change is in direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in July 2024 regarding the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson which allows municipalities to criminalize sleeping in public places.
Over the past 10 years, SleepOut has raised $2.9 million for programs in support of young people experiencing homelessness. For more information, visit WaypointNH.org/SleepOut.
Established in 1850, Waypoint is a statewide, private, nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people of all ages through an array of human services and advocacy serving more than 8,000 people through 21 programs at centers in 11 regions across the state. Visit WaypointNH.org for more information.
