One night changed everything: Why I sleep out for Covenant House

[ad_1] I’ll be sincere: after I first heard in regards to the Covenant Home Sleep Out, I knew homelessness existed, however I knew shockingly little about why it occurs or what might be carried out.

This will probably be my sixth Sleep Out — an evening spent exterior to boost cash for homeless youth. And yearly, I study one thing new about myself, about privilege, and in regards to the 4.2 million younger individuals who will expertise homelessness this yr.

The Evening That Opened My Eyes <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-480215" src="https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_45_13-1024x577.jpg" alt="Image of group of nine employees standing outside." width="500" height="282" data-wp-editing="1" srcset="https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_45_13-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_45_13-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_45_13-768x432.jpg 768w, https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_45_13.jpg 1284w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px"/> Annually, I’m joined by fellow Cisconians for an evening sleeping exterior to fundraise for Covenant Home Texas. My first Sleep Out in Houston began with an outreach to the native bus station. I watched a teen, somebody who might have been my very own child, ask for a bottle of unpolluted water.

We walked straight to the fuel station and acquired each bottle of water that they had.

That straightforward act introduced a stage of urgency I’d by no means felt earlier than. You possibly can at all times say, “It’s too huge an issue for me to repair.” However that evening, I discovered: one bottle of water may help. One evening in a secure place can change the path of a life.

What I Didn’t Know About Youth Homelessness Listed below are three truths that shattered my misconceptions:

Delusion #1: Younger folks select to be homelessTruth: They’re homeless as a result of the scenario they had been coming from was so unsafe that the road was a greater various.

Delusion #2: Not all homeless youth are seen on the streetsTruth: Most are sofa browsing or in harmful conditions. You stroll previous them day-after-day and by no means know.

Delusion #3: “If they only bought a job…”Fact: 90% of younger folks at Covenant Home had been employed inside the final yr. However even with a job, younger folks can’t afford lease in most cities.

Why This Issues Now <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-480216" src="https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_46_42-551x1024.jpg" alt="Image of man in a sweater with "53 degrees" overlaid " width="209" height="388" srcset="https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_46_42-161x300.jpg 161w, https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_46_42-551x1024.jpg 551w, https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_46_42-768x1428.jpg 768w, https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/03_46_42.jpg 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 209px) 100vw, 209px"/>I requested Invoice Bedrossian, CEO of Covenant Home, why youth homelessness doesn’t make headlines. His reply: We don’t see these younger folks. They've backpacks. They’re going to high school and work. They appear like everybody else, till they don’t have a spot to sleep that evening.

However I’m asking you to not look away.

The Sleep Out: I Hate It, and I Love It Right here’s my pitch: It’s like greens. You don’t know till you attempt it.

You’ll hate it. You’ll be drained, chilly, uncomfortable. However you’ll like it, since you’ll notice: I made a distinction. Once I get up that morning, I take into consideration how I get to take a bathe, go residence to my mattress, not test the climate to plan the place I’ll sleep.

That’s the privilege we take without any consideration. The Sleep Out isn’t about pretending to be homeless. It’s about understanding, even for one evening, what it means to not have a secure place to sleep.

Crew Texas: $572,000 and Counting Since 2016, Cisco’s Crew Texas has raised greater than $572,000 for Covenant Home. That cash helped construct a model new shelter in Houston, and this yr will probably be our first Sleep Out on the new location.

Right here’s what I’ve discovered about fundraising: If my success fee in gross sales was nearly as good as asking folks to assist this trigger, I’d be well-known. I’ve by no means had a pal or member of the family say no. Folks wish to assist. They simply have to know the way.

The Math Drawback We Can Remedy <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-480224 alignright" src="https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/IMG_8702.jpeg" alt="" width="454" height="341" srcset="https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/IMG_8702-300x225.jpeg 300w, https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/IMG_8702-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://blogs.cisco.com/gcs/ciscoblogs/1/2025/10/IMG_8702.jpeg 853w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 454px) 100vw, 454px"/>

Invoice advised me: Homelessness is a math drawback. We don’t have sufficient housing. Prices have risen quicker than wages. Even younger folks with jobs can’t afford lease.

However we are able to remedy math issues. Covenant Home works on three fronts:

Prevention: Retaining households along with assist Intervention: Offering shelter, counseling, job coaching, training Restoration: Creating inexpensive housing for working younger folks

We are able to finish youth homelessness. However we are able to’t do it alone.

November twentieth: Be part of Us Crew Texas is sleeping out at our new Houston shelter. Cisco is aiming for 500 sleepers throughout all cities and elevating $1.5 million. We'd like you. Be part of us in Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, DC, New York, San Francisco, or one in all our different 17 areas. Or sleep in your yard.

Simply do it.

The Second That Stays With Me After that first outreach, I sat in a parking zone and thought: I don’t have to take a look at the climate tonight. I don’t must plan the place I’ll sleep. I simply get to go residence. That security is one thing these younger folks deserve too.

One evening. One bottle of water. One alternative. That’s all it takes to alter a life.

Get Concerned:Enroll: Covenant Home Sleep OutJoin Crew Texas or discover your native workforce captainCan’t sleep out in individual? Sleep in your yard and fundraise from residence Let’s present these younger folks they’re not invisible. They matter.