JOB CORPS It was a chilly, rainy November night on the edge of the New Orleans French Quarter as 93 community leaders traded creature comforts for sleeping bags and cardboard in an event that raised over $220,000 for the city’s growing homeless youth population.
Covenant House, a shelter for homeless and at-risk youth under 21, hosted the event that raised awareness and funding to combat one of the city’s most pervasive problems- young adults without a place to call their own. New Orleans City Councilmembers Kristin Palmer and James Gray and Sheriff Marlin Gusman were among the participants. BCL Randy Savoie represented New Orleans Job Corps.
“It was a humbling experience to trade the comforts of home for a night on the street,” said Savoie. “It gave me some idea of the challenges faced by the homeless. The stories shared by the young Covenant House residents were moving and very emotional. It was obviously a small sacrafice to make really compared to what our city’s homeless youth face every night. It was a very fulfilling experience and it was an honor to do it.”
“Their small sacrifice sends a clear message to homeless and at-risk kids,” Jim Kelly, executive director of Covenant House, told WDSU-TV. “That we stand with them in their struggles, celebrate their courage and resiliency, and support their promise and dreams.”