Covenant House Newsroom

The young girl, a victim of rape, was all alone in the hospital.

Alone except for Lakeya Jenkins, our mental health specialist at Covenant House Greater Washington.

 “Do you think I could get a weighted blanket and a teddy bear?” the young girl asked Lakeya. 

 “She disclosed to me that she was raped while living on the streets. I escorted her to the hospital and stayed with her,” said Lakeya. “She got a full physical exam, and was also seen by the psychiatrist at the hospital.  She was going through all of this alone. It really hits home when young people don’t have any family to lean on, especially in times of crisis.

“And so I stayed with her. And when she mentioned she would like a teddy bear and blanket, I ran right out and bought them,” said Lakeya. “She is out of the hospital and with us at Covenant House.  We signed her up with a support group, where she is able to talk to several other young women who have gone through the same horrific experience. She has been through so much trauma. But she is an amazing, resilient young woman. We’re here for her. That is the message we give to all our young people.  They are their own best advocates and always will be … but we will always be here for them.”

Lakeya has been with Covenant House Greater Washington for over three years, providing her time, expertise and talent to young people experiencing homelessness.  At any one time she is providing mental health support for up to 20 young people.

 “We have individual and group sessions,” says Lakeya.  “So many of our young people have a lot of past trauma, which makes it extremely important we have the mental health services support each young person needs. It is intense work. We see young people who have aged out of foster care. We see young people who have been alone trying to survive on the streets, and young people who have been victims of human trafficking. And in the past year with the COVID-19 pandemic, the trauma has only increased for young people experiencing homelessness.” 

Lakeya recalls a young man who came to Covenant House whose mom had just passed away during the height of the pandemic. “He kept all his emotions inside. He just didn’t feel comfortable expressing himself, which of course was completely understandable.  But after a few sessions, his love for being creative started to come through. He told us he loved to design and sell clothing and he had his own business. We bought him an airbrush machine, and that is when his creativity really took off!  He is air-brushing t-shirts and jeans with beautiful designs. He is so talented.

“You have to think out of the box,” said Lakeya.  “Sometimes just having me talk all session long does not help a young person. We give our young people an opportunity to choose. Maybe they might want to paint that day. Or build something. Or listen to or create some music. Or work out. Or just laugh! Our job is to identify what works for each individual young person. We are a safe space.”

Lakeya says that connections in the community are vital to the work Covenant House does with young people. “Many of our young people have fallen through the cracks of the school system, and we need to re-connect them in the community,” she says. “Our commitment does not stop between the walls of Covenant House.  We know we can’t do this alone.”

The work is challenging, but to Lakeya, the young people and her fellow co-workers are family. “We have so many young people who leave us to move into their own apartments, with good jobs,” said Lakeya. “And they call back, just to give me an update. They know we will be proud and bask in their achievements. It gives me a chance to tell them again that they will always be their own biggest advocates, but that they will also always, always have our support.”