Finding their way
Outreach program offers road to independence
Living at Covenant House Florida is like having a second family, said Victoria Walker, as she prepared to join her peers in the dining room for the group’s Thanksgiving meal.
“I do feel fortunate,” Walker said. The 20-year-old credits the Fort Lauderdale nonprofit that serves homeless and at-risk youth for putting her on a path to selfsufficiency.
Walker entered the Covenant House shelter last January. She had been living in a motel for two weeks in an effort to escape an unhealthy situation at home.
“I had a job, but the money wasn’t adding up,” she said.
With the guidence of the agency’s Rights of Passage transitional housing program, Walker is now living with a roommate in a Covenant House subsidized apartment. She’s employed in a retail job that suits her, and she envisions entering a career in early childhood education.
“There’s no reason to fail if you come to Covenant House,” Walker said. “Everything
we do, [counselors] do step-by-step with us.”
The program is rigorous. Walker learned to present a professional image and succeed in job interviews. Life skills such as managing money and living on a tight budget are taught alongside doing laundry and making your bed every morning.
“Structure-wise, it’s a lot,” Walker said. But today she finds comfort in coming home to a tidy apartment and knowing that she has some savings.
“Sometimes you go through rough patches, but you’ll eventually make it out,” Walker said.
On average, the group’s emergency housing shelter houses 70 men and women under the age of 21. Another dozen or so will stay in the transitional housing
program for about a year. Young mothers with babies and children are also accepted.
Nurses and case workers link the youth to healthcare and social services. Those who want GED classes or substance abuse treatment can enroll in onsite training programs.
“We teach them whatever they need, which is usually a lot,” said Kristin Hughes, who works with youth in parenting education. “It’s difficult living in a shelter environment, but there is so much they can take advantage of here.”
“We teach them whatever they need, which is usually a lot ... It’s difficult living in a shelter environment, but there is so much they can take advantage of here.” — Kristin Hughes, Convenant House worker