Covenant House Vancouver

The young people who come to Covenant House Vancouver face many obstacles to achieving independence. The majority of street youth have experienced physical, sexual and or emotional abuse, often at the hands of the adults responsible for taking care of them. Likewise, Vancouver's downtown streets can be dangerous. Sexual exploitation, drug abuse, poverty and illness are commonplace on the streets and many of our youth are re-victimized there, having fled one unsafe situation only to find their circumstances often worse.

We Sleep Out to show our solidarity with those youth who are facing homelessness and to let the world know about this ever-growing population of brave, courageous young people.

Our Crisis Program

At Covenant House Vancouver we welcome young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are at-risk for or are experiencing homelessness. We provide compassion and support, and a chance at a fresh start.

When they arrive, young people have often experienced trauma. They are scared, hungry, and exhausted. Our first priority is to meet their basic needs by providing them with:

• Medical attention
• Nutritious food and hydration
• A safe place to sleep

There are 63 beds in our short-term Crisis Program:

• 28 beds for female-identifying youth (including LGBTQ2S, gender queer, gender non-binary and self-identifying young women)
• 35 beds for male-identifying youth (including LGBTQ2S, gender queer, gender non-binary and self-identifying young men)

Along with safe, supported housing, young people receive clothing, and hygiene supplies. They can also receive employment and education supports, access to Registered Clinical Counsellors and Social Workers, and help in transitioning to independent living, when ready.

Young people can stay in the Crisis Program free of charge for as long as they need to because getting through a crisis takes as long as it takes.

All funds raised for Sleep Out: Executive Edition directly support the Crisis Program at Covenant House Vancouver.