City Leaders, Execs Sleep Outside To Highlight Youth Homelessness
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- WCCO is hosting a phone bank Monday to help homeless youth in our community.
YouthLink provides services to homeless youth by helping them find counseling, medical care and other vital resources.
They wrapped up a unique night of awareness Monday morning, where executives and city leaders from around the Twin Cities spent the night on the ground right in downtown Minneapolis.
That was after they took a group tour around the city to see some of the places where homeless teens spend the night.
The organization says there are enough homeless teens in the area to fill up half the hotel rooms in downtown Minneapolis.
One of the executives who spent 12 hours learning about the needs was Brien Kennedy, WCCO's general manager.
"All night it is loud, I couldn't imagine doing that every night, or sleeping on a cold floor somewhere," Kennedy said. "I don't know how you can get a normal night's sleep ever. It must be so hard for these young people."
Kennedy says he was moved after hearing the stories of teens that have gone from living on the streets to working and thriving thanks to YouthLink.
Click here if you would like to donate, or call 1-800-542-9226.