PHOTOS: Demonstrators Gather To Raise Awareness Of Allegheny County's More Than 4,100 Homeless Youth

90.5 WESA | By Jared Murphy

Published October 18, 2019 at 4:02 PM EDT

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Youth advocates estimate the number of homeless children in Allegheny County has doubled in the past six years.

Jared Murphy / 90.5 WESA

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Several dozen people, including students and professionals, gathered in Market Square at noon on Friday, Oct. 18 for Stand Up For Homeless Children demonstration held by the Homeless Children’s Education Fund. ";

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Students from City Charter High School hold up an illustration to represent the 4,128 homeless youth in Allegheny County during Stand Up For Homeless Children demonstration in Market Square on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019.

Jared Murphy / 90.5 WESA

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The demonstration had speakers, including Carlos T. Carter, executive director of the Homeless Children Education Fund, and Laura Drogowski, the City of Pittsburgh critical communities manager with the mayor's office.

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Crowd members at the Stand Up For Homeless Children demonstration form a semi-circle and hold up illustrations of a child’s face to represent the 4,128 homeless youth in Allegheny County. ";

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Marcia Carter of Ambridge, Pa. holds an illustration of a child’s face to represent one of the 4,128 Allegheny County homeless youth during the StandUp For Homeless Children demonstration in Market Square.";

Jared Murphy / 90.5 WESA

More than 4,100 children in Allegheny County were homeless in 2018. Students, youth advocates and city officials gathered in Market Square on Friday afternoon to raise awareness of this population at the Standup For Homeless Children demonstration.

Demonstrators are standing downtown holding drawings representing the 4,100 children experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County. They’re silent to acknowledge that young people are often “hidden in plain sight.” @905wesa #HomelessnessActionWeek pic.twitter.com/vGbcu765eR
— Sarah Schneider (@sarahschni) October 18, 2019

Crowd members were asked to hold up an illustration of a child's face for 15 minutes to represent the children without stable housing in the region.