News
Shelter Is Only the Beginning
From crisis to care: Find out what it's like when a young person enters our doors.
What: Sleep Out: Stage & Screen
When: Sunday, August 18 – Monday, August 19
Where: Covenant House New York
Why: Because everyone deserves a safe place to sleep.
How: Sign up to join us here: sleepout.org/event/stageandscreen
Don’t be one of THE OUTSIDERS! Join us in HELL’S KITCHEN on August 18th where we have no DOUBT that “The Young Are At The Gates!”
The Covenant House Stage & Screen community was well represented at the Tonys! Congratulations to past and current Sleepers who were nominated for their contributions to the creative artistry and production of the following shows: The Outsiders, Hell’s Kitchen, Suffs, Merrily We Roll Along, Water for Elephants, Cabaret, The Who’s Tommy, An Enemy of the People, Lempicka, and Back to the Future. This community goes well beyond creativity. They are filled with compassion and care for the youth at Covenant House!
Former President & CEO of Covenant House, Kevin Ryan, was among those nominees and took home a trophy for his work producing The Outsiders – a perfect fit for someone who has spent his life amplifying the stories of young people persevering and perishing in what can be an unforgiving world. “The Broadway and entertainment communities are Covenant House’s biggest champions,” Ryan says. “The unity they display when they come together in solidarity on this night shows how dedicated they are to ending youth homelessness. Their love is oxygen to our young people at Covenant House.”
A 6-time Sleep Out participant and Covenant House board member Ariana DeBose dazzled as the night’s host. When she is not choreographing elaborate dance numbers, writing songs, or putting on show-stopping performances, she is giving back to youth at Covenant House. “Sleep Out is intense, wonderfully eye opening, and immensely special,” DeBose says. “It isn’t about pretending to be homeless. It’s about gathering to hear the stories of these young people and witnessing the work of the Cov staff members. It’s about giving up the comfort of your bed for one night in solidarity with homeless & sexually trafficked youth in order to say 'we see you'.”
“Covenant House has been on the front line of the youth homelessness crisis for over 50 years. Our doors are open 24/7, 365 days a year in 34 cities across the United States, Latin America, and Canada. In New York City, the oldest and largest Covenant House crisis shelter stands only blocks from Broadway and houses 120 young people each night.
What might it mean to those young people to have 120 members of the stage and screen industry give up our beds for a night? The funds raised could mean they could rest easy, knowing a warm bed and loving care would remain available at no cost to them. The interactions shared might mean that they leave walking a little taller, having been seen for they are beyond being homeless. And the attention earned might mean that the next young person seeking a safe place to sleep knows where to look.
It would mean one uncomfortable night for you. But it could mean the world to them.
It is supporters like Audra McDonald, a 9-time Sleep Out participant and Covenant House board member who took the stage as a presenter during the Tony Awards pre-show who prove that no matter what, they will work to keep the doors at Covenant House open 24/7 for all young people who need us. “Each time I Sleep Out, I find that the young people are genuinely touched that anyone would take even one night out of their lives to care. That is what this Sleep Out movement is all about. It is a life-changing, life-affirming event,” says Audra.
Our doors are open for youth like Ivory who deserve to be in a community that will support the next steps on their journey to wholeness and independence. After a few weeks in our program, Ivory shared, “When I gave myself a chance, everything started to change.”
Join us to help young people like Ivory find the chance to make a change. Sleep Out on Sunday, August 18th, at Covenant House New York in Manhattan or unite with us remotely from anywhere in the world.