Covenant House Vancouver

Helping our youth to reconnect with family (if it is safe and appropriate to do so) is an important value at Covenant House.   We had a youth in house who had been doing everything in her power to regain custody of her son.  She had got herself on Income Assistance and had been looking for full-time employment. 

She went to court to give them permission to randomly test her for narcotics and do regular check-ups on her.  She was given permission to see her son when he’s at her Grandmother’s place on the weekends.  We supplied her with bus tickets and overnight visits here and there so that she could spend quality time with her son, encouraging it every step of the way. She connected with different family members and asked them to buy presents for her son, rather than for herself. 

When she was preparing her gifts for her son (we are fortunate that we receive donations from the community that our youth can use as Christmas presents for their families), she was paying special attention to the little details like bow and ribbon placement, you could see just how proud of herself she was for being able to spoil her son a little bit over the holidays.  Whenever somebody joined her to see what she was up to, she jumped at the chance to show pictures of her son and share just how much he means to her.  It was amazing to watch her strive for a better life, not just for herself, but for her son as well.  I was sure to let her know just how lucky her son was to have such a caring Mom.  She thanked me for giving her a place to work on becoming a better Mom.  What an awesome night!