Why Alvina Jones is Sleeping Outside

I know what it's like to feel completely alone. Growing up, I didn't have many safe places. I didn't feel loved by the people who were supposed to love me, and much of my life was spent surviving. But there were two youth workers who noticed me. They cared for me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. They didn't know everything that was happening in my life. They didn't know I was living with a mother struggling with addictions and bipolar disorder, or that by 12 I was sleeping on my friends' couches and floors, drinking, using drugs, and being preyed on by older men. They didn't know the whole story, but they showed up anyway. Through the way they loved me, I started to believe that maybe I was worth loving. And then they introduced me to Jesus. I couldn't imagine someone loving me like that, let alone believing that God could love me. Jesus met me in the middle of my mess, and looking back, I can see that He was right beside me through the worst years of my life. Today, nearly 1 in 5 youth aged 15-24 report always or often feeling lonely. When I think about that statistic, I think about the younger version of myself. I can't help but think about what might have been different if I had never had those two people who noticed me. That's why I show up for youth now. I know how important it is to reach young people before they reach a crisis point, to build relationships, create safe spaces, combat loneliness, and give youth people they can turn to when life gets hard. For YUnite Outside, I'm sleeping outside for one night to raise funds to go towards this prevention work. Because I know firsthand that sometimes a young person's story can start changing simply because someone decided to show up. And for me, that someone was a youth worker who showed me the love of Jesus. I want to be that person for someone else.