A Young Poet Makes Her Way Forward
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” —Barack Obama
From Harriet Tubman to John Lewis to Barack Obama, Black History Month is a reminder for our community to reflect on the positive contributions and the rich and valuable history of generations of people who are Black, and to celebrate those making history today like Stacey Abrams and Amanda Gorman.
Covenant House is proud to stand with the Black and African American leaders who have left their mark in history, especially those who have fought for justice, equality and policy change fueled by the belief that no young person should ever be homeless.
During Black History Month, we’ll use our platform to honor the devotion and spirit of Black leaders working and volunteering in the Covenant House community, and we’ll feature stories of creative and resilient young people whose voices will shape the future. Young people like Chyna, a poet and an artist who is filled with hope and determination for a life she writes about in her poetry.
A Young Poet Makes Her Way Forward
Chyna is a poet, an artist who draws with words and conjures hope even in challenging times. She came to live at Covenant House Illinois last summer, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notebook in hand, and with her poet’s ear and eye, Chyna adjusted to her new surroundings. Before long, supported by Covenant House programs and dedicated staff, she enrolled in school and secured a job. By the end of the year, Chyna was twirling keys to her own apartment.
She describes the change she felt within herself with each achievement: “The worries, they start to fade and I start to feel more happy,” she says. “I am on the road to stay equipped.”
Equipped, that is, for independence and to pursue her dreams. “Chyna impresses you every time,” says Nicole, Chyna’s case manager. “She’s determined and follows through.”
At Covenant House Illinois, she found the relentless support she needed to create her way forward. Chyna was one of 12 residents at Covenant House Illinois, which also welcomes dozens of youth facing homelessness each day for drop-in programs, services, and warmth at our Youth Development Center.
In a few months, we look forward to welcoming more than four times as many youth to our Covenant House Illinois residential program, when we move into a newly renovated facility in the East Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago.
During the four months Chyna lived at Covenant House, she explored themes of change and hope in her notebook of poetry and scripts. “Hope in my eyes/follow the eternity path/without getting lost,” she wrote in her notebook, the first lines to a new poem.
Chyna explains, “I wake up, and it’s another day. And I hope this happens and I hope that happens. Hope is a guide. If I don’t have hope, what can I look for? I hope to see dreams. Covenant gave me another dream to have,” she says. “I dream of me, and that is something different.”
