Youth Futures Utah, an organization committed to helping homeless, unaccompanied, runaway, and vulnerable youth in northern and southern Utah, is hosting its fifth annual SleepOut overnight event.
With locations in Ogden and St. George, Utah, Youth Futures provides homes for homeless youth in Utah. They report that a third location is coming soon in Cedar City.
3,565 uninhabited in Utah in 2021
According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness in January 2020, there was an estimated an average of 3,131 people in Utah who were homeless every day.
An Utah state annual report on homelessness in 2021 shows that approximation has stayed roughly the same. At some point in 2021, 3,565 people were not housed in the state of Utah. Only 2,410 of the uninhabited population were in emergency shelters.
Among those cared for in Utah were 252 minors who survived domestic violence, 14 young parents under the age of 24, and 132 unaccompanied teenagers.
Temperatures below freezing are expected.
The # UTSLEEPOUT2021 overnight stay will be on Saturday, November 6th, in the back parking lot of the Youth Futures Utah locations in Ogden and St. George. Temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius are currently expected.
Over 100 participants are expected. They bring their own sleeping and warming equipment for the night and are given a sheet of cardboard to mark their places in the parking lot. This cardboard also forms a barrier, albeit a thin one, against the asphalt.
Photo of a participant at a past SleepOut event Photo: Youth Futures Utah
In a press release, the organizers stated that unlike teenagers who experience real homelessness, the participants have access to toilets, on-site emergency services, food, hot drinks and a “warm zone”.
With support from attendees, volunteers, and private donors, Youth Futures has already raised $ 20,000. They report that this money will help maintain and create services for youth at risk in Utah. These services include emergency shelters available to homeless youth during the often harsh weather conditions of Utah’s winters.
Interested parties who want to register or donate for the event are asked to visit this website. 76278.
Flyer provided by Youth Futures Utah
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