Covenant House Newsroom

As the COVID-19 virus raged into all our lives, so many of our days these past 13 months have offered a mixture of exhaustion, dread, uncertainty, frustration and isolation.

“As you can imagine, life changed drastically at Covenant House when COVID-19 struck,” said Dr. Shakeema North, vice president of youth development, equity and inclusion at Covenant House New York. “We had to adapt in so many ways … from the way we intake young people into the program, to our safety protocols, to our staffing. At first, it was almost like we had to pivot into an in-patient emergency room. 

“We went from high fives and hugs to masks and social distancing,” said Shakeema.“We went from having our meals as one big family to eating in small groups on the residential floors. We had to convert our administrative offices to wellness rooms for sick and symptomatic kids. The pandemic really shifted what our Covenant House community looked like and felt like.”

For young people already experiencing homelessness, the pandemic added more trauma and stress.

“The toughest part has been seeing that more of our young people are coming to us very scared,” said Shakeema. “In addition to the trauma many have faced prior to the pandemic, they now had the fear of a public health crisis. I have been struck by the number of young people who have come to us asking for us to pray with them. We needed to make sure that, in addition to food and clothing and safe beds and all our other services, that we had additional mental health and spiritual care available 24/7.”

Dr. Merrian Brooks, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, one of the nation’s top hospitals and a partner in our work at our Covenant House program in Philadelphia, has also been on the frontlines since the pandemic struck.

 “At the height of the pandemic we were actually seeing less young people coming to our clinic, which had me very concerned,” said Merrian. “Some young people simply didn’t know help was available because so many referrals come from teachers and counselors and those referrals stopped with school and program closings. It was very difficult because telemedicine can only go so far. Our young people need personal care.” 

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, all Covenant House sites have remained open, with nearly 1,900 young people each night sleeping safely in our programs.

With school and other program closures, there has been a drastic increase in the number of young people coming to Covenant House for meals. Since March 1 of last year, we have served more than 1.7 million meals -- a 75% increase over our traditional meal provision.

Young families have been especially impacted, and each month during the pandemic we are caring for an average of more than 145 young families, including 420 babies and toddlers under the age of 5.

Many of our young people who worked so hard to find jobs lost them during the pandemic, with unemployment jumping by more than 20 percent at several of our sites.

“There has been so much stress in the lives of our kids,” said Shakeema. “So many worked so hard, found jobs and moved into their own apartments. And then they lost their jobs and apartments due to the pandemic and had to come back to live at Covenant House. It has been very hard on our young people… that feeling they are going backwards.”

Despite these challenges, more than 1,200 young people obtained employment at Covenant House since last March. That means that on average, more than 120 young people each month were able to find new jobs during the pandemic.

“Teens and young adults are super dynamic and resilient,” said Merrian .“They can conceptualize their situations and adapt. As long as we can work together to show them there is a future, many will continue to bounce back. We just need to provide healing environments. 

“When you see the services at Covenant House, you really see that it is a place to heal and grow,” says Merrian. “There are so many meaningful services, and what I love most is that none of the services come with a time stamp. We take the trust of the young people who come to us and we honor that trust.  And that is when real healing begins.”

As with all frontline workers, Covenant House staff have risked their own health to make sure young people have Covenant House to turn to in this crisis. “I always knew this, but the pandemic really brought it home for me. For our staff, this is not a job, this is a calling,” said Shakeema. “Staff want to be here, even with all the risks, and even as they worry about their own families at home.

“And our young people … well, they inspire me every day, but never more than during this pandemic.  They are still excelling, going to school, going to their jobs. I was afraid with all that is going on, our kids could have easily lost their resilience, their joy. But they have not. They have kept the joy, and shared it with us. We’re so blessed.”