Imagine being a young person, living in the family home, but your uniqueness is not celebrated by your parents. Perhaps you want a career that your parents don’t agree with or perhaps they’re not comfortable with how you identify. Regardless of the reason, you either don’t feel safe at home, or you are told to conform or leave.
For some of you, you don’t have to imagine, you’ve been there.
Meet Riley*. Riley is a creative soul who wants to pursue a career in animation, but their dad is set on them going to law school. In an attempt to coerce Riley, their dad has shut off power to their room and denied them food.
Riley is lying on their bed. The room is dark except for the light from Riley’s phone. Riley looks longingly at their lifeless laptop that has a note tacked on it from dad, “You’ll get meals, power, and Wi-Fi when you forget animation and go to law school! – Dad”
“Why doesn’t he understand that my passion is to go to college for animation? I can’t complete my prerequisite courses online without Wi-Fi and power!”
Riley refused to relent. It wasn’t just about school. It was the years of never being good enough. Always being compared to the children of the people that Riley’s dad worked with. In every scenario, Riley came up short, in the comparisons. Their dad’s verbal abuse went beyond just badgering Riley, it affected their mom.
Riley knew that the future that their dad had planned for them was not palatable. Every time that Riley tried on the scenario in their head, they felt ill. This constant barrage was affecting Riley’s mental health; but where to turn? Riley had nowhere to go.
That night, while Riley’s dad yelled at their mom, about Riley, Riley quietly started to pack a bag. There was no plan, but Riley knew that they had to leave. Riley’s stomach protested because Riley hadn’t eaten since this morning — a meal that Riley’s mom snuck to them, while their dad was out running errands. Riley grabbed a small plush character that they had won years ago at a high school animation contest, and tucked it in their hoodie.
Riley waited until it was late, and both parents were asleep. Going into desk drawer, Riley hungrily consumed their last chocolate bar. They crumpled the wrapper, and their dad’s note, and left both lying on the bedroom floor.
Leaving their keys on their dresser, because they never planned to return, Riley walks out into the night.
East Vancouver was quiet, but animated characters could be seen moving about in the night air. Riley ran through streets and alleys looking for a quiet place for the night. They tried the shadows of overpasses, but they were occupied. Making their way to the city core, Riley became overwhelmed and exhausted. Finding an alcove in an alley, Riley dropped their bag, and squeezing the plush figure in their hoodie, they collapsed with their back against the wall.
The morning sun warmed Riley as they slept. When the sun suddenly disappeared, Riley awoke with a start. It was a shadow cast by two figures that slowly approached Riley. “Hi there. No need to be alarmed. We’re from Covenant House Vancouver. We’re walking around the community doing wellness checks. Are you okay? Are you hungry?”
Riley nodded with some apprehension. “Would you like a sandwich and some water?” Riley’s hand reactively extended at the sight of food. They ate ravenously.
“If you don’t mind, while you eat, we’d like to let you know what Covenant House is all about and how we could support you, if you’d like.” The Outreach team proceeded to let Riley know that at Covenant House, there is a Drop-In Centre where they are welcome to hang out, rest, have a meal, shower, and do laundry. The team also let Riley know that there was a bed in their Crisis Program that is designed to help those who are without shelter and any kind of support system to help them in their time of need.
“If you’d like, we could walk with you to Covenant House and answer any questions that you might have along the way.” Riley hesitated as they thought through their situation: they had nowhere to go, no plan, and no resources. Riley decided to follow the team back to Covenant House. After all, they could always say no, if they decided that Covenant House wasn’t for them.
Riley was met with warm smiles as they entered the 10-storey building on Seymour Street. A youth worker led Riley into a room just off the lobby area. “We just need to do a quick intake. You are free to share as little or as much as you’d like. The goal is for us to understand how we can best help you, but only share what you’re comfortable with sharing.”
Riley took a deep breath and exhaled. “My name is Riley. I’m 17 and I have nowhere to go.” Tears began to form as Riley fought to compose themselves. “It’s okay.” Said the youth worker. “We can chat again when you feel more at ease. In the meantime, we’ll show you to your room and you are welcome to come down to the dining area and have a hot meal.”
Riley’s room consisted of two beds, an area for them to store their personal items, a desk area, and a bathroom that had a shower. Their roommate seemed nice. Riley stored their bag and followed the youth worker down to the dining area.
Today’s lunch was chicken tacos. Riley eagerly accepted the food and sat in the dining area to enjoy a hot lunch.
After lunch, Riley connected with their youth worker. “Would it be possible for me to have a shower?” Absolutely.” The youth worker replied. “By the way, are you in need of some clean clothes?” “Uhm, well, I…you have clothes here?”
Riley was taken to the clothing room that contained, new and gently used, clean clothes. Combing the racks, Riley found loose-fitting pants in bold colours. This brought a small smile to their face. A buttoned-up shirt with a mosaic print completed the ensemble.
Riley slept hard that night.
After a few weeks, Riley developed a routine. They were introduced to their social worker, who was happy to help them develop goals and ways to achieve those goals, when they were ready. They learned that they could access counsellors, learn life skills, and participate in activities, both on and off site.
One day while heading to the computer room to do some research, Riley heard music coming from the music room. Riley stood in the doorway and watched as some youth jammed. “Would you like to join us?” A youth asked. “I don’t know how to play an instrument.” Riley replied. “No worries. We could use someone to lay down a beat.” Riley sat on a cajon (a wooden box with a sound hole in it) and began to tap out some beats.
Feeling more at ease at Covenant House, Riley decided that they’d like to talk to their social worker about goals, and if their dream about animation could actually happen. Things were going well, until they opened up about their home life. At that point, Riley began to tear up. “I’m just going to throw this out there, but if you’re ready, we could book you in to see one of our counsellors.” Said the social worker. Riley blushed as they struggled with the idea of accepting help. Riley managed to squeak out the words, “Yes please.”
Working with their counsellor was a powerful experience. Riley learned about trauma and that what they were experiencing wasn’t their fault. The counsellor also let Riley know about art therapy. “There are open sessions where you can come, just hang out, or try your hand at creating something.” Said the counsellor.
Riley was a mix of excitement and fear. “Art? I can create art?” They thought.
Riley quietly entered the art room and sat down at the end of the table. Everyone introduced themselves, and some shared a little about themselves. Supplies were distributed and everyone began. Riley quietly painted away, while some youth chatted about what they’ve been up to and some were excited about what was being served at dinner, that evening.
“Oh wow!” Exclaimed a youth. “Look at what Riley created. Riley’s shoulders slumped forward. The unwanted attention made them feel awkward. “Riley, tell us about this painting.” One youth pleaded. Riley explained that this was a character that they were developing and inadvertently shared that they were interested in going into animation. The other youth encouraged Riley to pursue this passion, as they obviously had a talent and love for it.
Once Riley digested what had just happened, their shoulders lifted, and they beamed with pride. This was a turning point for Riley. They began to talk more openly to their counsellor and social worker. The social worker helped Riley to not only create a plan as to how they could get into animation school, but they began to plan how Riley could eventually exit Covenant House and live in the community.
Riley began to sign up for life skills workshops where they learned how to cook, how to budget, how to shop on a budget, and what they needed to know about renting in Metro Vancouver.
Riley signed up for group sessions for art therapy where the group was committed to attending a number of sessions and work through something specific. Riley really enjoyed how they could express themselves without the awkwardness of conversation. They learned more and more about their trauma and also about brain development and that they were just where they should be in that development.
Riley spent many hours in the computer room, where they worked on their prerequisites for college. Their youth worker helped them to develop their resume, cover letter, and how to apply for admissions and for scholarships.
Riley worked hard to meet the goals that they had set for themselves. During all of their work, Riley began to find community. Through the music room and art therapy, Riley began connecting to other creative souls. They would meet regularly in some of the common spaces. They would all share what they were working on, ask for feedback, and crack jokes. And the coolest thing of all, to Riley, is that they all either had a plush figure or a memento from their lives that they connected to. These figures were at attendance at every gathering that the group had.
With the help of their youth worker, Riley was able to secure some scholarships and bursaries to help them with school. They also obtained a part-time job in the evenings at the local grocery store.
It had been a long road, but the day came where Riley was ready to move into community housing. In community housing, Riley would be able to experience independent living with the support from Covenant House. The night before the move, Riley sat on the edge of their bed and recalled everything that they had been through. A smile spread across their face as they realized everything that they had overcome to get to this point.
Riley loved their new space. It was definitely a learning curve as they were responsible for meals, cleaning, and paying bills. Riley wasn’t thrilled about the grocery store job, but it helped, and any negative feelings would be forgotten in school the next day. Being around fellow creative people was so inspiring.
During the summer months, when school wasn’t in session, Riley began to volunteer. They would work with young people at their local community centre. They would go on excursions, sing songs, and make crafts. Riley loved to show the young people different techniques when creating in different mediums. This was their favourite part of their volunteering.
One day, while working on a school project, and reminiscing about the previous summer at the community centre, Riley had an epiphany. They called their support worker at Covenant House with the news: “I know what I want to do with my life. I want to become an art therapist!”
While going for a walk, one day, Riley passed an adult sleeping in an alcove, on the sidewalk. It was a sobering moment where Riley wondered what would have happened if they hadn’t connected with Covenant House. Would they have ever been able to follow their dream? Riley had to dismiss that thought, because it was too much. They found solace in knowing that one day, they will be able to make a difference in someone’s life, through art therapy.
*Riley is a composite story that reflects the experiences of multiple youth, who, through no fault of their own, find themselves without a safe place to live. Thanks to your support, we are able to help youth, like Riley, build the skills that they need to pursue the future that they deserve.