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(NewsNation) — Covenant House, a charity focused on helping the homeless, hosted “sleep out” events across the country Thursday night to raise money and awareness for their cause.
The purpose of the sleep out is to give participants a glimpse at how difficult it is to be unhoused. The temperature maxed out at 41 degrees overnight in New York, and there was light rain and wind bringing the “feels like” temperature below freezing.
The event also raises money for Covenant House’s operations.
NewsNation’s Caitlyn Becker attended a sleep out in New York Thursday, and described the weather as “absolutely frigid.”
“It was bitter, brutal cold last night,” Becker said Friday on “Morning in America.” “The cement was absolutely freezing. The wind was howling.”
Though there were times when Becker said she wanted to go home, she noted that 4.2 million youth don’t have this option.
“I’m doing this for one night, but tomorrow I’ll go home. I’ll give my husband a hug, I’ll call my siblings, and I’ll go on with my life,” one man told NewsNation. “There are too many young people out there who don’t have a home to go to.”
Shakeema North, executive director of Covenant House New York, said the sleep outs help people “understand the magnitude” of the situation.
“This is a sad issue that we are dealing with in society, ” North said.
Last year, sleep out events nationwide raised around $10 million. Just Thursday night’s in New York City garnered $1.8 million.