On Friday, March 23rd, Velcro Companies participated in the 4th Annual SleepOut at Stanton Plaza in downtown Manchester. During this time community members came together in solidarity with New Hampshire youth who are experiencing homelessness. The goal of this event was to raise awareness of the challenges facing the homeless youth, and fundraise for services that help to stabilize and transform their lives. The goal of NH Child and Family Services is to end youth homelessness by 2020!
For us, it was a unique and humbling experience; spending the night on the cold ground reminded us of securities we take for granted and adds to the appreciation of what we have and the things we should be doing to give back. Thank you Kim Wood – Jeff Davis – Donna Whiton– Tiffany Kay – Trudy Frasch – Mike Bolsvert – and Catherine Cavanaugh for joining Velcro USA Inc. on this awareness campaign.
The CFS SleepOut 2018 had a goal of $250,000 and they exceeded their goal – reporting in at close to $300,000 of that total, our team raised almost $10,000.
The money raised is at work right now, supporting life-changing services to NH’s homeless youth.
· Boots on the ground–mobilizing our street team to find at risk youth wherever they may be
· Basic needs fulfillment– food, clothing, showers, laundry, personal care services, respite during the day
· Prevention—education and collaboration with schools and others to head homelessness off at the pass
· Problem solving —mental health counseling, access to substance misuse and healthcare services
· Opportunities for change—educational support, job skills training, driver’s ed, life skills support
· Independent living—safe housing and services to help youth transition to self-sufficiency and success
#NoRestUntil
Did you know that currently, 1 in 10 young adults ages 18 to 25 and 1 in 30 adolescents ages 13 to 17 endures some form of homelessness in America? While the reasons range from abuse and neglect, to mental illness – they are all at risk of being abused or exploited while on the streets.
For many of us, we survived our teenage and young adult years never having to worry about where we would sleep, what we would eat, and how we’d get through another day. Although one night on the street does not truly help us understand what it is like to be homeless, we hope the experience will raise our collective consciousness about the plight of New Hampshire’s homeless youth, and drive change.
