SDYS Runs for Homeless Youth: 50K for 50 Years

The top leaders at San Diego Youth Services will run 50K (31 miles) across San Diego on Nov. 1 to kick off National Homeless Youth Awareness Month. The organization is also celebrating 50 years of helping San Diego’s homeless youth.

CEO Walter Philips and Associate Executive Director Steven Jella will also be joined by board members, staff and friends on the route.

At least 1,500 youth are homeless here in America’s finest city. That number is also rising and likely to be a vast undercount. The most recent count found youth make up 12 percent of the county’s unsheltered homeless population, higher than veterans at 10 percent and families at 3 percent.

Founded as one of the nation’s first shelters for homeless youth, San Diego Youth Services has helped improve the lives of more than 720,000 homeless, runaway and abused youth. Today, the shelter remains the only emergency night shelter for homeless youth under 18. The organization also provides transitional housing for youth ages 16-25 and other services, helping more than 23,000 youth annually.

In 2017, Philips and Jella completed the first of the 50K runs across the county during Homeless Youth Awareness Month, helping raise awareness of youth homelessness and $28,000 in support of our vital services. The funds helped us improve the lives of more than 28,000 homeless, runaway, abused and other vulnerable youth and their families last year.

The Nov. 1, 2019 run will pass all San Diego Youth Services locations across San Diego County.