Manhattan —

Four in 10 of  the city’s homeless are under 18. Many are runaways who fled abusive homes. Others have bounced around the foster care system.

Volunteers from Stand Up for Kids, an organization dedicated to helping homeless teens, gathered at Tompkins Square Park to promote Big Purple Couch Day as a part of National Homeless Teen Awareness Month. The couch represents the plight of teens who go from sofa to sofa in search of overnight shelter.