StandUp for Kids Case for Support

Case for Support

Take action to help end the cycle of youth homelessness

VisionWe strive to build communities where all youth know care, feel loved and have a support system to help them move quickly from surviving to thriving.

MissionTo end the cycle of youth homelessness.

DrivenAs a national non-profit organization, StandUp for Kids cares for homeless and at-risk youth by transitioning them from crisis to connection. We give our youth a sense of safety, hope, and belonging through housing support, mentoring, drop-in centers, and street outreach.

"I can navigate the world and not let it break me on a daily basis."

- MARQUESHA “KEKE” BABERSStandUp for Kids Ambassador

"I can navigate the world and not let it break me on a daily basis."

Homeless youth are on America's streets.
That’s a dangerous place to be.

Fact Within the first 48 hours

These kids are our Nation’s invisible homeless population, undercounted for years, hiding out in cars and abandoned buildings, in motels and on couches, often trading sex for a place to sleep. We know that the number of teens and young adults living on the streets is only growing.

Every day America’s youth are exposed to:

Shocking statistics of America’s youth:

(between ages 10-18) will run away

(ages 18-25) and 1 in 30 adolescents (ages 13-17) experience some form of homelessness over the course of a year

experience an episode of homelessness for a week or longer

sleep on the streets for six months or more at a time

are under the age of 18, unsheltered; sleeping outside, in a car, a park, an empty building or have been in the juvenile justice system, or in jail

become victim to human trafficking- inclusive of sex and labor trafficking

It is unimaginable that there are kids right now, in our own communities, completely on their own without any support.

With your support, we can reach more of them.

Your contributions power our impact

Our vision is to get every young person off the streets and into a promising future filled with opportunity…
One where they have a place to sleep, a safe place to call home…
Opportunities to go to school, get jobs, get access to health care…
One-on-one time with mentors who can guide and inspire them.

OUR 2022-2023 Goal

This funding and support means we can get closer to ending the cycle of youth homelessness by breaking the patterns that hold these kids back and help move them forward on new paths by…

BUILDING

the capacity of our street outreach programs so our volunteers can find and connect with more youth.

MULTIPLYING

the placement of 18- to 24-year-olds into stable housing.

EXPANDING

to end the cycle of youth homelessness.

SCALING

the number of outreach centers nationwide that welcome our young people and provide a safe space to land.

Defined as youth and young adults, ages 12 to 24, unaccompanied by a parent or guardian.

They often DO NOT fit the traditional idea of what ‘homelessness’ looks like, they:

Go to school
Have jobs
Participate in community activities
Enjoy social lives with friends who
have safe, dependable places to sleep every night

Early Runners: Displaced from their homes due to severe conflict, abuse, or neglect and experiencing short-term homelessness.

Doubled-Up: Transition aged (18+), cannot return home, and require housing with life-skills training.

Older, Employed Homeless Youth: Highly mobile with access to part or full-time employment, but no access to affordable housing opportunities.

Street-Dependent Youth: Sleeping out of home for six months or more, in need of services to assist with education, employment, and reconnecting with family or social support networks.

Homeless Youth with Long-Term Disabilities: Experiencing cognitive or emotional challenges and requiring support into their adult years.

Family Instability, including child abuse and/or neglect, domestic violence, parental substance abuse, and conflict over sexual orientation or gender identity.

System Involvement, including the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. A young person leaves the foster care system anywhere between the ages of 18-21. For many, “aging out” is accompanied by instant homelessness because housing is tied to government support.

Residential Instability with one’s family and usually due to economic issues.

Extreme Disconnection from education, employment, health care, and the positive communities, social and support networks that could help them to change their circumstances.

Their Struggle Is our Challenge

DEMOGRAPHIC DISPARITIES

Up to 40% identify as LGBTQ

Compared to non-LGBTQ youth:
62% report being physically harmed while homeless
120% more likely to experience homelessness

Black youth have an 83% higher risk of experiencing homelessness

PHYSICAL/MENTAL ISSUES

Every day, 13 at-risk youth will die due to assault, illness, or suicide trying to survive on the streets – or 5,000/per year

75% more likely to self-medicate and abuse substances compared to housed youth

69% suffer from mental health problems

25% experience homelessness within a year of aging out of the foster care system

EDUCATIONAL HURDLES

Homeless students are 87% more likely to drop out of school altogether vs. housed students

Young adults with less than a GED were 4.5x more likely to report experiencing homelessness than their peers who completed high school

@StandUP Advocacy

We will always be here for these kids

Since 1990, StandUp for Kids has served unaccompanied homeless and at-risk youth – and young parents with children of their own – up to their 25th birthday. All of them have lived through trauma. Many have survived abuse. Often they’re just victims of immense neglect. When we first meet them, they are disconnected and uncertain about what steps to take next. Through our four core programs – Street Outreach, Outreach Centers, Mentoring, and Housing – we help move them quickly from crisis to connection.

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I can’t make a difference in every youth’s life, but any difference I can make is a big difference for me.”

- ADRIAN RAMIREZ Co-Executive Director, San Antonio Chapter

"I can’t make a difference in every youth’s life, but any difference I can make is a big difference for me.”

Watch Promotional Video

@StandUp Chapters

Strengthening how many youth we can reach

Currently, we operate 16 chapters in cities and communities in 10 states and the Nation’s capital. Staffed mostly by volunteers, we work tirelessly to assess youth in need, connect them to resources and opportunities, help them develop plans and get them headed in new directions.

ARIZONATucson

CALIFORNIA

Oceanside
Orange County
San Diego
Silicon Valley

COLORADODenver

GEORGIAAtlanta

ILLINOISChicago

MASSACHUSETTSWorcester

OHIOCleveland

TEXAS

Houston
San Antonio

VIRGINIAHampton Roads

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIAWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON

Kitsap County
Olympia/Thurston
County
Seattle

@STANDUP Teams

PEOPLE, PASSION, PURPOSE & PURPLE!

5,598 volunteers served 39,302 hours in 2021

Our most prized asset is our hundreds of volunteers nationwide.
Along with our core staff in our national office in Decatur, Georgia, they are at the heart of what we do. Many have been with us for 10 years or more. Some work behind the scenes as unsung heroes and others are out front, serving as counselors, mentors, or meeting kids on the streets.

And all of them wear their StandUp for Kids purple t-shirts with pride.

Throughout another challenging year, StandUp for Kids’ dedicated staff and volunteers pivoted to ensure we could continue to provide youth across America with what they need.

WE SERVICED

13,134

street and outreach center incidences of support

WE SUPPORTED

459

youth in maintained housing with ongoing social services

WE DISTRIBUTED

23,989

meals to those in need throughout our chapters

WE PROVIDED

3,065

nights of emergency shelter

WE GUIDED

739

youth with mentoring and education support

WE ADDED

1,783

new youth to our outreach network

Getting these kids from surviving to thriving just doesn’t happen. It takes time, a true commitment, heartfelt dedication, and unwavering support. We are grateful for our generous donors and sponsors.

Of every dollar donated, 81 cents goes directly into programs that serve youth facing and experiencing homelessness.

Sometimes the hardest thing a homeless youth will do is recognize they need help. Through four core programs available to local communities, we assess their needs, connect them to resources, and develop plans to get them out of often untenable or unjust situations and move them toward much greater stability.

Your contribution keeps these four core programs growing.
Your investment can make all the difference in how much our chapters can help and how many youth we can save from the streets.

STREET OUTREACH

REACHING YOUTH WHERE
THEY ARE

LEARN MORE

Mentoring

INSPIRING YOUTH TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES

LEARN MORE

Housing Support

FINDING A PLACE TO
CALL HOME

LEARN MORE

OUTREACH CENTERS

EMPOWERING YOUTH TO FIND
THEIR WAY

LEARN MORE

REACHING YOUTH WHERE THEY ARE

Street Outreach counselors go directly to the streets to reach homeless kids. Volunteers walk known “hotspots” and other areas where youth congregate, to distribute food, clothing, hygiene products, resource information, and referrals. They make themselves accessible at consistent times each week to build relationships and connect homeless youth to services as well as trusted community resources.

IN 2021, WE ASSISTED 6,173 YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS DURING STREET OUTREACH.

“If I hadn’t found StandUp for Kids I don’t
know if I would be dead or alive. I'm grateful that StandUp for Kids was there to embrace me and help me and save me during my tough times.”

- BRITTANY StandUp for Kids Alumni

“If I hadn’t found StandUp for Kids I don’t know if I would be dead or alive. I'm grateful that StandUp for Kids was there to embrace me and help me and save me during my tough times.”

INSPIRING YOUTH TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES

During sessions in school, after school, and in our Outreach Centers, mentors act as guides, role models, and accountability partners, helping youth to develop a goal plan and find ways to execute it. The goal of school-based mentoring is to increase high school graduation rates and foster a love for learning. Planning for self-sufficiency, we promote exploration of vocational training, college, entrepreneurship, and jobs.

IN 2021, MORE THAN 1,200 STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN OUR SCHOOL-BASED MENTORING PROGRAMS.
STUDENTS MENTORED BY OUR ATLANTA CHAPTER HAVE GRADUATED AT RATES HIGHER THAN THE STATE AVERAGE.

“I put on a suit and say I am coming in... in the name of education to keep these kids in school. That cuts through every time. There goes Sledge. They recognize me.”

- KEDRIC SLEDGE National Board Member and Atlanta Social Worker

“I put on a suit and say I am coming in... in the name of education to keep these kids in school. That cuts through every time. There goes Sledge. They recognize me.”

FINDING A PLACE TO CALL HOME

Getting youth off the street is one thing; finding them safe and reliable housing is another. It may take several months. Once situated, it may take twice as long until they feel fully capable and comfortable taking care of themselves. Teams monitor each individual situation and help young renters build a life centered around community, with support including: locating an apartment, life skills training, counseling, referrals for medical and dental support, weekly food baskets, and housing stipends.

89% OF THE YOUTH WE HOUSED TRANSITION FROM CRISES TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY.

“We come in wanting to change the world. The reality is that it does not solve homelessness. To volunteers I say, It takes time and energy. To get the most out of the experience you need to interact with the kids.”

- MARIO ROCHA StandUp for Kids Director, Silicon Valley

HELPING YOUTH TO FIND THEIR WAY

Through educational programs, one-on-one counseling, and an ongoing atmosphere of hope and concern, Outreach Centers provide safe and protective environments for homeless and at-risk youth and connect them to vital resources and a support network of basic human needs and development. Assistance includes: vocational training, job referrals, securing birth certificates and Social Security cards, life skills, wellness activities, meals and snacks, shower and laundry facilities, and mail service.

IN 2020, MORE THAN 5,200 YOUTH FOUND SAFETY AND CONNECTION IN OUR OUTREACH CENTERS.

“Being here allows me to show youth that they are loved, that they matter, and that they have gifts to offer their community. StandUp for Kids is able to provide this in the most non-judgmental and loving way.”

- VOLUNTEER

TOGETHER, WE CAN END THE CYCLE OF YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IN AMERICA.
Our youth are counting on us – and we are counting on you.

Visit https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/standupforkids

Your gift of support will go to work immediately providing meals, emergency housing, mentorship, education, and long term housing for homeless youth.

Become a Corporate partner
We’re always looking to build deep, multi-layered partnerships on a variety of different platforms. An employee matching gift program can add even more value.

Become a Foundation Partner
We welcome unrestricted support and funding for specific projects, working closely with you to realize your philanthropic goals and interests.

Donate Goods & Services
Many of our chapters accept in-kind donations: non-perishable food, clothing, hygiene products, first aid items, bus passes, gift cards, and office supplies.

ERIN MURPHY
ErinM@StandUpForKids.org

National Office
National@StandUpForKids.org
1-800-365-4KID (1-800-365-4543)
200 Nelson Ferry Road, Suite B, Decatur, GA 30030

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