Last year, 546 homeless Philadelphians 21 years or younger were turned away from Covenant House Pennsylvania.
Today, those 546 homeless youth are represented via black cut-out silhouettes currently on display at Dilworth Park.
"Am I Cut Out?" is a one-day pop-up art installation put together by Covenant House Pennsylvania, the only shelter in the city that serves 18- to 21-year-olds. Specifically, they provide shelter for runaway, homeless, trafficked youth, and young mothers and children.
But last year, it had to turn away those 500-plus homeless because the shelter only has 51 beds.
546 homeless youth were turned away from Covenant House last year
City-wide, there are 388 beds for homeless youth.
The installation was created in order to raise awareness about Philly’s homeless youth, which is a serious problem and has recently received national attention. Approximately 1 in 20 high-schoolers in Philly have experienced homelessness—and many of them are LGBTQ.
The installation is at Dilworth Park today until 4 p.m., and it’s something you have to see in person to really feel its power. But if you missed it, here are some photos from earlier this morning.
- Announcing ‘Am I Cut Out?’ [Streets Dept]