(Newswire.net — February 19, 2015) St. Louis, Missouri — It will be a bitterly cold and long night for more than 30 business leaders as they sleep outside as part of the Covenant House Missouri Executive Sleep Out to raise money and to draw attention to the thousands of homeless youth in the St. Louis community.
“Last year’s Covenant House Executive Sleep Out was life changing for so many of us,” said Sleep Out Honorary Co-Chair Curtis Francois, owner of Gateway Motorsports Park. “Community leaders have an obligation to stand up for children who have no voice and who are too often invisible to even their own families.”
These executives have chosen to give up the comforts of home on Feb. 26, knowing it can bring warmth and hope to young people who need it most.
Each year, nearly 2,500 St. Louis youth join the 2 million children who face homelessness in the United States. How do teenagers become homeless? For most, the family environment in which they were living was scarier and more threatening for them than life on the street. Many are forced to flee their homes to escape abuse, neglect, untreated mental illness and substance abuse issues within their families. These children represent every economic, geographic and racial demographic and come from all across the region. More than 50 percent of homeless teens in this region come from St. Louis County and surrounding areas.
But there is hope. Covenant House Missouri has a proven track record of success in transforming the lives of homeless and at-risk youth. Covenant House Missouri is the only non-profit organization dedicating 100 percent of resources to homeless, runaway and at-risk youth not in the foster-care system. Covenant House Missouri empowers these youth to live independently and become contributing members of our community. Without positive intervention, statistics show these homeless teens are likely to become involved in illegal activity, drugs and prostitution. Some even face an early, tragic death.
Covenant House Missouri served over 5,855 young people in 2014, providing the basics that most so often take for granted such as food, shelter and security. Youth have the opportunity to attend HiSET (formerly GED) classes, job training and placement, as well as to receive healthcare, long-term housing options and individual case management. An astounding 85 percent of the youth served by Covenant House Missouri are transitioned into safe and stable living environments. Through education and job skills training, many of these teens obtain employment and some even go on to college.
During the Feb. 26 event, executives will have the privilege of meeting the youth in Covenant House Missouri’s residential program. Young people will share their stories of how their pervasive feelings of fear, pain and hopelessness have been transformed to joy, hope and purpose through their own hard work and Covenant House Missouri’s positive intervention in their lives.
Jay Williamson, vice president of Business Development at BryanMark Financial Group, and his wife, Marnie, are Co-Chairs of the Covenant House Missouri Executive Sleep Out.
Curtis Francois, owner of Gateway Motorsports Park, and his wife, Amy, human resources director at Villa Lighting, are Honorary Co-Chairs of the event.
For more information visit: StLouis.executivesleepout.org
How You Can Help with Covenant House Missouri Executive Sleep Out in St. Louis
Executives, philanthropists, local celebrities and civic leaders will sleep outside on Feb. 26 in an act of solidarity with homeless teens in the St. Louis region. You, too, can be a part of this movement to help kids off the street. Commit to fundraise. Reserve a sleeping bag. Let your life be touched by a young person who has much to share.