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Business and community leaders spent a chilly, damp night outside to raise awareness of youth homelessness

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Business leaders across North America sleep out so kids don’t have to as they raise money and awareness for homeless youth.

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sleep out: executive edition | help homeless kids

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Sleep Out: Executive Edition | Help Homeless Kids

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Toronto business leaders and celebrities will sleep out this November so homeless youth don't have to, as they raise money and awareness for homeless youth.

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The Covenant House is located in Toronto because it started with the late Cardinal Carter who rallied community support after he found kids sleeping outside his downtown office("Covenant House", 2017). The Covenant House helps youth through their 24/7 crisis shelter in the community and help through services such as  education, counselling, health care, employment assistance, job training and aftercare("Covenant House", 2017). Their goal is to serve suffering children of the street, and to protect and safeguard all children.They provide services such as health services, job training, support services, transitional housing, and mental health programs ("Covenant House", 2017).

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The social movement this organization is a part of is called Sleep Out. Across Canada and the U.S., dedicated men, women and children are sleeping outside to raise funds and awareness for homeless youth ("Covenant House", 2017). There are three different Sleep Outs. The first one is called Sleep Out: Executive Edition and was on November 17, 2016, seventy of the city’s top business and community leaders slept outside and raised more than $1 million for homeless kids at Covenant House. Participants were only allowed to bring a sleeping bag and cardboard. They slept on the pavement in freezing temperature to raise awareness ("Covenant House", 2017). The second social movement is called Sleep Out: Next Generation and was on April 6, 2017. More than 65 of the next generation of business and community leaders slept outside to raise awareness of youth homelessness and raised more than $370,000 for the Covenant House. The third social movement is called Sleep Out: Women Unite which is on Friday, May 26, 2017, and it is the first all-women sleep out. This sleep out is to help raise awareness on homeless and trafficked youth ("Covenant House", 2017).

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Would I personally support this organization? 

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Would I personally support this organization? 

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I personally would support this organization and the larger social movement to support homeless youth and help change their lives with the services the Covenant House offers. This organization does not only provide shelter for homeless youths, they also have many programs that range from runaway prevention, crisis intervention, life skills training and counselling to support to help young people. Another reason I support this organization because during the winter holidays, I volunteered for Project 5k and I was handing out presents to homeless people. I went to the Covenant House which is for homeless youths and saw many teenagers younger than me having nowhere to sleep.

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Human trafficking survivor Casandra Diamond speaks at Covenant House during the Wednesday announcement of the agency's $10-million anti-sex trafficking initiative. (Melissa Renwick / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

A multi-media campaign aimed at teaching young girls how to spot early signs of luring and sex trafficking.

Education for hoteliers, condominium concierges, even taxi drivers about how they can intervene, if - and often when - they come into contact with this crime in action.

And, 24-7 help for victims of this large, and growing urban problem.

These are just some of the new programs Covenant House has begun rolling out as part of its coordinated attack on human sex trafficking.

At a press conference in the agency's College St. headquarters Wednesday, executive director Bruce Rivers announced a $10-million fundraising campaign called Just Like a Girl You Know, to support and further develop the new initiatives.

"Sex trafficking is a growing public issue," he says. "Homeless youth are particularly vulnerable. But this could happen to any girl."

A Toronto Star investigation into The Game - sex trafficking by so-called "Romeo Pimps" - revealed numerous cases of girls and young women who were trafficked out of fine hotels and dodgy motels. An accused pimp told the Star how easy it is for a trafficker to lure a young person with the promise of love and a future. The Star stories also revealed the lack of social supports for victims of trafficking and the low conviction rate for those charged under the law.

The fundraising campaign, Rivers says, has already raised about $6.5 million from large donations but still needs about $3.5 million more to help get many of the initiatives off the ground, and make sure they are effective.

The new initiatives, together called the Urban Response Model, takes a three-pronged approach to combating sex trafficking. It includes prevention and early intervention programs aimed at educating potential victims and those who, unknowingly, come into contact with the crime, such as concierges and taxi drivers. It also helps with "crisis response," getting victims what they need immediately, such as court support, trauma counseling and transitional housing.

Toronto Community Housing announced last year it would give a building, at an undisclosed location somewhere in the city, to the initiative for a $1 annual lease. The City of Toronto is renovating the building, which will have enough room to temporarily house seven victims of human trafficking, officials say, and it is slated to open this spring. The Star stories revealed that trafficked victims from Ontario have had to be sent to British Columbia to take advantage of supports that Ontario lacks.

The third piece of the initiative is research, conducted in real time to evaluate program effectiveness and identify any gaps in service.

A largely domestic crime, which is growing in Canada, sex trafficking is a particular problem in Toronto and targets girls between 13 and 17 years old, authorities say. Last year alone, local police investigated 319 occurrences, arresting more than 120 pimps and intervening with 63 victims, says Toronto Police detective Joanne Bevin-Desjardin.

The girls are "coerced, beaten ... sold by pimps to other pimps across Canada," she said. "Their basic human rights stripped away."

Already, Bevin-Desjardin said, the new programs are having a positive impact. A few days ago, when local police found a sex-trafficking victim, they called Covenant House's new 24-hour hotline and trained workers came right away, she says.

In the past, the police would have had to find and coordinate all the services for the victim. Now, she says, victims have access to appropriate help and trained professionals right away, who can provide a more fulsome "wrap around" service.

"Before, there wasn't a coordinated model," Bevin-Desjardin says. "This allows us to be more proactive and get back out there; look for more victims. We are thrilled to be part of this."

Casandra Diamond, a sex-trafficking survivor, who spoke at the press conference, described how difficult it is for victims to leave sex trafficking and how, sometimes, it takes more than one or two tries to get them out. These new initiatives, she says, "will give more trafficked persons a better chance at reclaiming their lives"

Calling sex trafficking an "urgent problem" and one that we as a society may not "think about enough," Toronto mayor John Tory said "it's a very important cause for us to take on."

And he said it is time for everyone to do their part. "This city has a big heart," he says. "I'm optimistic people will step up."

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Covenant House launches campaign to spot signs of sex trafficking | Toronto Star

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A multi-media campaign aimed at teaching young girls how to spot early signs of luring and sex trafficking. Education for hoteliers, condominium concierges, even taxi drivers about how they can intervene, if - and often when - they come into contact with this crime in action.

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JOIN THE MOVEMENT: SLEEP OUT: WOMEN UNITE

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JOIN THE MOVEMENT: SLEEP OUT: WOMEN UNITE

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Women Unite, the first all-women sleep out for Covenant House Toronto.

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The Covenant House history and how their organization began

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history | toronto homeless youth charity

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History | Toronto Homeless Youth Charity

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Opened in 1982, Covenant House Toronto originated with the late Cardinal Carter who rallied community support. Today, we are Canada's largest homeless youth agency.

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Is Covenant House working effectively to achieve the objectives of the movement? 

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Is Covenant House working effectively to achieve the objectives of the movement? 

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In my opinion, Covenant House is a very effective social organization. Since the day they first opened their doors in 1982, they have helped more than 90,000 young people and every day around 250 youth use their residential and support services. ("Covenant House", 2017). Through their Youth Homelessness Awareness and Prevention school programs they have educated over 32,000 students in grades 6 to 12 across the GTA  ("Covenant House", 2017). To reach out to the community, they had a petition to find new ways to help youth find housing, stay in school and getting the guidance they need. Covenant House got over 13,000 supporters to help support these youths ("Covenant House", 2017).