According to a report put together by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, about 50,000 youth in the United States experience homelessness for six months or more at a time—a statistic that hasn’t escaped the streets or the youth of Boulder.
November is Homeless and Runaway Youth Awareness Month. Every November, Attention Homes, a non-profit organization created in 1966 that provides opportunities for at-risk youth, invites the people of Boulder to spend one night living out on the street in an attempt to raise awareness and financial support for the programs the organization operates. In 2014, Attention Homes served over 740 individual youth in their drop-in and overnight shelter programs which benefit youth and young adults in need of help in the city of Boulder. Attention Homes not only offers shelter and community-based living, but also offers emotional and behavioral support as well, and teaches those seeking help important life skills that are necessary to obtain an independent and healthy future.
On Thursday, November 12, Attention Homes will host their fourth annual Sleep Out for Homeless Youth fundraiser which will take place in downtown Boulder between the Attention Homes administration building and the First United Methodist Church. Initiated in 2012, thirty supporters participated in the first ever Sleep Out, raising $50,000 for Attention Homes.
The focus of the event is just as much on its educational element as it is its fundraising element. Participants set a fundraising goal which they can tackle individually or as part of a team. On November 12, all participants, sleeping bags in tow, will set up camp outside in downtown Boulder, where they’ll receive a piece of cardboard to lay on, a hot meal provided by the folks at Attention Homes, and information and statistics about the youth the organization serves, and the challenges they face everyday. Over 100 participants took to the street for the event last year, raising over $134,000.
For people wanting to support the program but not participate, Attention Homes is also holding several other fundraisers in the month of November, including Dine Out, for which select restaurants in the Boulder area have pledged to donate a portion of sales for an evening to the organization. Participating restaurants include Gondolier Italian Eatery, Snooze, Avery Brewing Co., Proto’s Pizza, and more. Visit attentionhoms.org for a Dine Out restaurant list an schedule.
General donation are also accepted and can be made here.
