Did you know that in the St. Louis region, there are about 1,500 youth without safe, permanent shelter every night? And 45 percent of those youth are turned away from shelters due to lack of capacity. On any given day, for every youth who is homeless, there are many more who are on the verge of homelessness, often due to poverty or abuse.

The good news is that safe, stable housing with supportive services can prevent or reduce these risks significantly. That’s why Youth In Need’s Young Professionals Group (YPG) will hold its fifth annual Step-Up and Sleep-Out event to raise money and awareness to support our programs that work directly with youth experiencing homelessness. All proceeds from this event will go toward Youth In Need’s Street Outreach Program.

Registration for Step-Up and Sleep-Out opens Oct. 1, and everything you need is right here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/suso2023. See below for more information, or contact Ashlee Berry, Annual Fund Director, at aberry@youthinneed.org or 636-757-9346.

Interested in becoming a Step-Up and Sleep-Out sponsor? Learn more here.

How to Participate

Step-up and sleep-out to end youth homelessness! Register to create your own personal fundraising page to raise money to end youth homelessness, and set your fundraising goal. (YPG recommends a minimum goal of $300.) Once you complete your registration, you’ll receive a link to your personal fundraising page.

Share your personal fundraising page link with friends and family via email and on your social media channels. (We’ve even created a tool kit with sample social media posts and graphics to help you spread the word.) Those interested can donate directly online, or register to participate in the event themselves.

Sleep-out from your home or another safe and legal place on a day of your choice between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15, 2023. On Oct. 1, visit the Step-Up and Sleep-Out Just Giving page to access the toolkit for suggestions to make the most out of your sleep-out experience. (Please note, there will be no sleeping-out at Youth In Need this year.)

Join us for the culmination event on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. at Youth In Need (1815 Boone’s Lick Road in St. Charles). Participants will watch Pretty Boy, an award-winning short film by former Youth In Need Street Outreach Manager Kevin Coleman-Cohen. Pretty Boy is based on the outreach work Kevin did while at Youth In Need. Following, Kevin will lead a discussion about the film and the issues homeless youth face.