Our mission is to provide free Night Night Packages to homeless children from birth to pre-teen who need our childhood essentials to have a concrete and predictable source of security and increased exposure to high-quality literacy materials during this time of upheaval. Each Night Night Package contains a new security blanket, an age-appropriate children’s book, and a stuffed animal — all nestled inside of a new canvas tote bag. Project Night Night works with tens of thousands of individuals each year who volunteer their time and talents to make our world a better place.
There are approximately 298,000 homeless families in the United States. Currently, there are more homeless children in the U.S. than at any other time since the Great Depression. Nonetheless, family homelessness often goes unseen as most homeless families do not live on the street. These environmental stresses negatively influence a child’s early experiences and often lead to an increase in mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, poor sleep habits, and behavioral issues.
Project Night Night distributes over 25,000 books each year to homeless children. Children who are homeless often have lower academic achievement, exacerbated by frequent moves, lack of privacy and psychological distress, than do children with homes. Many homeless children report that they had difficulty finding a quiet place to study or do homework while in the shelter.