Waypoint March 21 SleepOut event evolving following Supreme Court ruling
Waypoint will hold its 11th annual SleepOut event on March 21 to raise awareness and funds to address critical needs to help end youth homelessness in New Hampshire, although this year it will take a different format as laws relating to homelessness evolve across the country.
MANCHESTER, NH – Waypoint will hold its 11th annual SleepOut event on March 21 to raise awareness and funds to address critical needs to help end youth homelessness in New Hampshire, although this year it will take a different format as laws relating to homelessness evolve across the country.
Unlike previous editions of the event, instead of sleeping outside together as a public demonstration of support for youth experiencing homelessness, advocates will sleep remotely outside at a location of choice.
Waypoint officials see this as a needed direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in July 2024 regarding Grants Pass vs. Johnson, which allows municipalities to criminalize sleeping in public places. In Manchester, the ruling was the catalyst to modify an existing public camping prohibition ordinance. Although other communities are contemplating criminal penalties following the ruling, the Manchester ordinance change only authorizes police to issue citations.
“While SleepOut traditionally brings people together as a group to sleep outside to raise awareness, the Supreme Court ruling over the summer made it allowable to criminalize homelessness,” said Borja Alvarez de Toledo, President and CEO of Waypoint. “Our young people can now be fined simply for having nowhere to go.”
The event will kick-off with an in-person gathering at Bronstein Park, where young people who are experiencing homelessness and those with inspirational stories of success to share, will gather.
The event also features Waypoint’s Artist in Residency Program, which provides opportunities for healing and skill-building through art. There is a memorial planned to remember young people lost to homelessness as well as a tribute to the hundreds of young Granite Staters who experience homelessness annually.
Each year an estimated 15,000 young people experience homelessness across the Granite State. Waypoint is the sole provider of comprehensive services for young people between the ages of 12 and 24 at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
“Too many young people in our state are either homeless or at risk and facing significant challenges to finding a safe home,” said Mandy Lancaster, Director of Waypoint’s Homeless Youth and Young Adult Program. “Through SleepOut, our goal is to end youth homelessness in New Hampshire.”
Over the past decade, SleepOut has raised $2.9 million for programs in support of young people experiencing homelessness. For more information, visit WaypointNH.org/SleepOut.
