When Rachel Brosnahan was in her early 20s, some friends in the Broadway community asked her to join them to support an event called the Covenant House Sleep Out. Covenant House is a nonprofit that provides shelter, food and services to homeless youth, operating in 31 cities across six countries, per the organization's website. "They presented it as an invitation to spend some time with some of the young people who called Covenant House home," Brosnahan explained to Health.

There was one young man there whose story tugged at her heartstrings. "I was also 23 and was struck by how, with a few small shifts in circumstance, we could be sitting on other sides of the table," she recalled "It didn't feel fair, and it didn't feel right." Brosnahan later joined the board of Covenant House and she's passionate about the work the organization does.

Per the nonprofit's website, Covenant House's mission is to support "young people facing homelessness and survivors of trafficking through unconditional love, absolute respect, and relentless support," with its doors open 24/7. "Young people who are overcoming homelessness at Covenant House are our future doctors, teachers, lawyers, and mothers and fathers," Brosnahan said. She points out that unhoused youth have "hopes, dreams, goals, fears, triumphs, and low points" — just like anybody else. "They just need an opportunity."

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