ANOKA, Minn. — Every year, more than 13,000 youth experience homelessness in Minnesota. On any given night, an estimated 6,000 young people have nowhere to call home.
Hope 4 Youth, a nonprofit based in Anoka, works to address this issue across the state.
Sue Woodard with Hope 4 Youth said many kids are going to school in the morning, but when the sun goes down, they're crashing on a friend's couch, or sleeping in a car, or on the street.
"This young man told us — and he was in high school — that his father was in prison, his mother had passed away, and he was supposed to be staying with family members and it wasn't working out," she said. "He had been staying overnight for shelter in a Porta Potty."
Hope 4 Youth helps young people between the ages of 16 and 24 find stability in their lives. It can be anything from a warm meal, a shower or counseling — whatever it takes to help turn things around.
"We want to give them a hand up and help them find stable housing," Woodard said. "If they need help with education, employment, whatever those needs are that they have we want to help them in the moment, but we also want to help them up into the future as well."
Hope 4 Youth is hosting its annual fundraiser on Saturday at the Bunker Hills Event Center in Coon Rapids. Click here for more information.
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