Spiritual and Cultural Care
Spiritual and Cultural Care
Many of the youth who come to Covenant House Vancouver have experienced tremendous losses and trauma in their young lives.
For a lot of youth, their faith, their beliefs, and their spiritual practices are what have helped them to survive. Spiritual Care exists to help youth find meaning and purpose in their lives beyond just the day-to-day survival skills that they are used to.
Our Spiritual Care team makes sure that we welcome, support, and nurture youth of all faiths and traditions. For those youth who identify it as supportive, we help them explore and develop their own spiritual, religious, and cultural identities.
Each youth decides if they would like spiritual care, during their time at CHV. It’s never imposed on, or expected of, them.
Cultural celebrations help contribute to a sense of home, either in the physical space, or within the youth themselves.
CULTURAL CARE
- Provides youth with a safe space to explore and celebrate different cultures
- Is celebrated through a variety of activities and holidays, throughout the year. Celebrations vary to best serve the youth who are currently at CHV.
- Often involves the sharing of food from different cultures — both during mealtimes and during outings
- Is supported through the hiring of diverse staff, who understand the experiences that youth face
- Connects youth to cultural communities and organizations
SPIRITUAL CARE:
- A dedicated Wellness Room with tangible support like prayer rugs, sacred texts, or medicines
- Medicine cabinets in all three of our buildings
- One-on-one spiritual care sessions
- Connects interested youth to spiritual or religious communities
- Supports youth in times of grief and loss
- Creates memorial spaces after the death of a youth to support youth and staff in their grieving