"Covenant House Vancouver is a great success. It is providing food, shelter, clothing and counselling to as many as a thousand street youth here"
Prime Minister Jean Chretien while visiting Covenant House on March 4, 2003.
who we are / who we help
Janine only knew a life of violence and neglect. Her mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol. By the time Janine was 3, she had been apprehended by the government and put into foster care.
Years of abuse and instability followed and Janine was living on the streets by the time she was 12 years old. The streets proved to be misery for Janine. As with many young people, she quickly turned to substance misuse to "numb" the pain of her past and the horror of her present.
Raped, beaten, and addicted, Janine came to Covenant for a chance to leave the streets behind.
For those of us who grew up in healthy happy families, it is difficult to imagine what years of abuse and neglect can do to a child. Even those of us who had our "fair share" of family turmoil know how difficult it can be to transform ourselves from angry edgy teenagers to prosperous stable adults. Needless to say, the road from adolescence to adulthood can be a bumpy one.
Covenant House Vancouver exists for those young people for whom there is often no one else - young people who have either willingly fled physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse or those who have been forced from their homes.
Often broken-hearted, the young people who come to Covenant House face many barriers to independent, healthy living. Many life threatening situations await kids who end up on the street. Substance misuse, disease and violence are a daily reality of street life.
Covenant House welcomes young people aged 16 - 24 with open arms. We bandage their cut-up feet, we give them hot food and a warm bed and we support them in their choice to change their present circumstances while helping them heal from past traumas.
We understand that life changes are challenging and do everything in our power to ensure that young people succeed at whatever plan they have chosen for themselves. As long as genuine effort is demonstrated, so is our commitment.
Alaska (Anchorage) California (Los Angeles, Oakland) Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Orlando) Georgia (Atlanta) Louisiana (New Orleans) Michigan (Detroit) Missouri (St.Louis) New Jersey (Atlantic City, Newark) New York (New York) Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) Texas (Houston) Washington, D.C. Toronto, Canada Vancouver, Canada Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua |
 |
STATS
Covenant House was incorporated in 1972 in New York City. Since then, more than 20 sites have opened in 6 countries. As of 1997, Covenant House programs have supported over 400,000 young people.
Covenant House Vancouver provides food, shelter, clothing and counselling to the estimated 500 - 1,000 street youth in Vancouver.
Most of the young people we help have fled unspeakable abuse at home. Physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse have forced these young people on to the streets, in search of a better life. But the streets are no place for anyone, let alone our nation's youth. Violence, poverty, sex trade involvement and addictions are just a few of the horrors associated with street life. Life on the streets is a dead end.
Covenant House Vancouver opened its doors in September, 1997 in response to a study that revealed that there are over 10,000 (now 15,000) runaways reported in BC annually. The study also revealed that street youth were in desperate need of short-term transitional shelter and long-term supportive housing.