Couches to Pop-Up On Philly Streets To Raise Awareness for LGBT Homeless Youth

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In what may be one of the most unique and attention-grabbing publicity campaigns we’ve seen, Valley Youth House will be placing random couches throughout Center City Philadelphia to raise awareness over staggering LGBTQ youth homeless rates.

The couches will be popping up both today and tomorrow, October 7 and 8, at locations across the city, starting at the Barnes and Noble at 18th and Walnut today at 12 pm with special guest author Rachelle Lee Smith. Later today, a couch will pop-up at the Valley Youth House, located at 1500 Sansom Street, for a 3 pm press conference.

Tomorrow, there will be a pop-up couch at the National Constitution Center at 12 pm, plus a special pop-up event with DJ Nicole Michalik at Woody’s starting at 4:30 pm.

Of course, this isn’t just about random upholstery all over city streets: The Valley Youth House is using the events to raise awareness of the staggering number of LGBTQ homeless youth. In fact, studies show that between 40 and 55% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ.

So why couches? According to representatives from Valley Youth House, homeless LGBTQ youth are often “invisible” because “they are sleeping on friends’ couches in addition to the streets.”

Visitors who attend the events are encouraged to use hashtag #CouchesDontCount to discuss the homelessness epidemic on social media. For more information on Valley Youth House, visit their webpage.