<html><body><p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;" dir="ltr"><strong>Youth Leaders call attention to issue of Youth Homelessness</strong></p>
<p><span><span> </span></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Press Contact: </strong></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Jesse Jaeger - Empower Montana Operations Director<br /></span>406-207-3372 (mobile)<br /><a href="mailto:jesse@empowermt.org">jesse@empowermt.org</a></p>
<p><span><span> </span></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Missoula, MT</strong><span> - Montana has the 5th highest rate of unsheltered homeless youth according to the 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. On April 28th youth leaders will be calling attention to this issue with a Homeless Youth Sleep-Out and Teach-In. The Homeless Youth Sleep-Out and Teach-In is a collaboration between Empower Montana , the Salvation Army of Missoula, and Holy Spirit Episcopal Church and will start at </span><strong>7pm on Friday, April 28th at the Holy Spirit Episcopal Church court yard (130 S. 6th St E).</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The Homeless Youth Sleep-Out and Teach-In is part of a 3-week long “Empowering Youth Leadership” Campaign being run by Empower Montana that started with their annual Diversity Day Celebration on April 15th and will run through Missoula Gives on May 5th. During the campaign Empower Montana is educating the public about youth suicide, youth homelessness and what young people are doing to address these issues.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>“Suicide and homelessness are two of the issues our youth leaders are talking to us about the most these days,” says Jesse Jaeger, Empower Montana Operations Director. “Youth homelessness in particular has not gotten the attention that it deserves and our youth leaders want to change that.”</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>“The most recent homeless survey indicates that 350 children under the age of 18 are homeless right now in Montana,” adds Alston Crudup, Empower Montana Youth Programs Specialist. “Many of those are part of families who are homeless, but many are also out on their own with no family around them at all. Our hope is that we can start a conversation in this community about how to better support these youth.”</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The schedule for the Homeless Youth Sleep-Out and Teach-In will be:</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>7:00 - 9:30PM: Youth Led Teach-In about youth homelessness (Public Welcome)</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>9:30-11:00PM: Screening of “The Homestretch” (Public Welcome)</span></p>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9e9dcfdd-a640-297b-b9d8-79caf28544be"><span>11:00PM - 7:00AM: Youth Sleep-Out (Open to Registered Youth Only, Contact Alston Crudup for details, alston@empowermt.org)</span></span></p>
<p><a href="https://u2155080.ct.sendgrid.net/wf/click?upn=iwA6rlATYQJ9bk-2BXypiqyzMTigI3L-2B7ud3at-2BtICQMf0A4U0aZdl1h-2Fru49i-2FWNQDq1RRr4n1C-2BjzrjZjCW8SuXKDEtJY9sG32c5gEngDeIKS9vj0rCM3o91CdVcvx-2Fz_mSGPTRW-2FT-2FQPGYphe7gfA6PYRqFOSewUuRbBHgre9xwifIpEoqSnL9B4nkH7GaJjB0ScaHyeTios7FrLoOsOkRUGOOexmBx79C5dmdSXUIvDD6-2Be59LJq39-2FMkz5FWv-2B3tM6dB5Q1Qe0ci3qfzpTGs2wm-2FiC86I2qP5VGlAvRWD17y0S9eOleBe6NR7zn30Q503vsZBJaJXutMP1GBqgGZrCiOQOADFPZYbJKdGmh1bS5FL82Hjgx-2Fppf7dTLGmJs1Tp3r2kxsPvzHPgLa3zKgSIBAWrqizpdzocOPcANjQ-3D"><span><span>Download Press Release (PDF)</span></span></a></p>
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