1. How do the kids find out about Covenant House Florida?
Most of the kids hear about us through word-of-mouth and walk in on their own. Some come to us referred by social service agencies, schools, churches, or the police.
But we don’t just wait for kids to find us. Counselors and volunteers go out in our outreach van and on foot to offer counseling, food, first aid, and information about shelter for kids stranded under bridges, on street corners, and in dangerous and unhealthy situations.
2. What are the admission criteria, i.e. what do kids have to do to get into Covenant House Florida?
Covenant House Florida is available without discrimination to kids from any geographic location or socio-economic, ethnic, or cultural background. The Ft. Lauderdale program serves youth under 21 years of age. The Orlando program serves youth 18-20 years of age. We are available without discrimination to kids from any geographic location or socio-economic, ethnic, or cultural background. Covenant House Florida is currently budgeted for a daily cap of 68 youths in Ft. Lauderdale and 20 youths in Orlando. There is a waiting list at both locations.
We ask all referral sources, such as law enforcement personnel, social service agencies, pastors, teachers, and guidance counselors, as well as youth and parents seeking help to call ahead to ensure a bed is available. In Ft. Lauderdale, call 954-561-5559. In Orlando, call 407-482-0404.
3. Where do the kids come from?
Many people think that runaway kids usually go great distances, but most runaway shelters report that 75-90% of their kids are from within a 20-mile radius. Since Covenant House Florida's Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando shelters are located in tourist areas, we do see kids from a wider area than most programs, however, in both Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, over two-thirds of the kids are from the immediate or adjacent counties.
4. Do you call the kids’ parents?
In an ideal world, every time we called parents, we’d be overwhelmed by their relief and joy. But what we hear most often is, “Johnny’s with you? Good, you can keep him.”
Within the first 24 hours, each youth under 18 has to call home to let his/her parents know that he/she is safe. The youth does not have to identify where he or she is at that time, but usually does. By 48 hours, the youth — or the agency — has to identify our location.
However, when kids report physical or sexual abuse, we immediately contact the state abuse hotline, and keep the kids safe either at our crisis shelter or by referral (when their safety warrants it) until the conclusion of an official investigation.
Adolescents 18 and older are not required to make family contact, but we encourage communication and facilitate reunification whenever it is appropriate.
5. How do you know the kids are telling the truth about who they are and what they’ve been through?
In order to stay at Covenant House Florida, young people need to agree to cooperate with our efforts to verify information about their identity, age, and parents’ whereabouts (for minors).
That’s not always easy for a girl who never knew her father’s name or a boy who came home from school one day and found that his parents had moved and left him behind. But we make every effort to confirm as many facts as possible so that we can work on the best way to help each youth.
Sometimes, kids do give us false information because they either never knew or have forgotten how to trust. When we can’t verify anything about what a youth has told us, we counsel him or her to give us information that can be confirmed, and if that doesn’t work, we would have to discharge the youth.
6. What do the kids do all day?
Each youth in our program works together with our counselors to develop a plan, for example to return home, to go to a foster home or appropriate long-term program, to begin substance abuse treatment, or for older youth, to prepare for independent living.
Residents are involved in counseling, health assessment, chores, sessions on life skills, employment, and teen parenting/pregnancy prevention, education including classes toward high school equivalency for older kids at both sites and full-time school for younger teens in Ft. Lauderdale, working or looking for jobs, and following up on referrals.
7. Do the kids help around the center?
The kids who come to us are in crisis, and their first and foremost priority is to work on stabilizing themselves to move toward productive lives. But the kids help a great deal around the center.
All of our bedrooms are dormitory-style, accommodating multiple youths. The residents in a particular room share the housekeeping responsibilities of their room.The kids also do their personal laundry and general housekeeping tasks like cleaning the dining area after meals.
8. Do you ever kick kids out/ask them to leave?
Every resident develops a plan and covenants with us to work on that plan. But some kids try to test the limits and don’t do what they’ve agreed to do, such as look for jobs or follow up on referrals, or don’t follow structure such as curfew. Then, they receive consequences that depend on what happened and on the youth’s age and circumstances. Repeated instances of not following a plan or structure could result in discharge.
Also, discharge would result from serious situations like bringing weapons or drugs into Covenant House Florida or physically or verbally abusing other residents or staff.
9. How many kids a day do you care for?
Every day, we provide crisis shelter to up to 68 youths in Ft. Lauderdale and 20 youths in Orlando. In addition, each site serves an additional 30 youths daily via street outreach, transitional housing, and aftercare.
10. How do you distinguish between the kids who really need you and kids who are on vacation or just looking for a place to crash?
We don’t make judgments at the front door about who is the neediest. But kids on vacation or kids who don’t need help wouldn’t stay in our program which has a 6:30 a.m. wake-up and a 6:30 p.m. curfew in Ft. Lauderdale and a 7:00 a.m. wake-up and an 8:00 p.m. curfew in Orlando.
The bottom line, though, is that we’d rather be taken advantage of by the few who might come in just for a meal or a place to stay for the night rather than risk turning away any youth who desperately needs shelter and services.
11. What is the age of the youngest kids who have come to Covenant House Florida?
Apart from the babies—some of them newborns—who come with their teen mothers, the youngest kids have been preteens, however most of them came with older siblings, and it is not common for such young kids to come to Covenant House. Our primary population consists of adolescents. In Ft. Lauderdale, we serve youths under 21 years of age; in Orlando, youth 18-20 years of age.
12. What is your relationship with the police and with others in the community?
We realize that we are part of our neighborhood, and we strive to maintain positive relationships with the police, with other social service agencies, and with our neighbors.
Both the police and other social service agencies often refer kids to us. They know we’ll accept the kids no one else wants.
Sometimes, we have kids with unresolved legal issues. They may stay with us as long as they are following their court-adjudicated responsibilities. If the police come with a warrant, we immediately counsel the youth to deal with the problem or face discharge from our program.
Throughout our 23-year history in Ft. Lauderdale and 13-year history in Orlando, we have endeavored to be excellent neighbors, diligently maintaining our buildings and grounds and immediately responding to neighbors' comments or questions.
13. How long do the kids stay?
The kids may stay as long as they continue to work on their plan. Since we are a short-term program, we help kids work toward a positive, planned discharge as quickly as possible.
The average length of stay is about two-and-a-half weeks, but that’s a mathematical average and doesn’t represent a typical stay. For a few kids, a meal, some counseling, and a call home are enough. For a great many others who have been disconnected from home, school, and society for up to a few years, a few months may be needed.
Although the kids usually stay with us only short-term, we build long-term relationships with many of them because often they need us more than once over a period of months or years.
14. What do you do when kids are sick or get injured?
Living on the street is decidedly unhealthy. Street kids use drugs, have multiple sex partners, live in crowded, unsanitary quarters, tattoo themselves with dirty sewing needles and India ink, get beaten up and raped, or become ill or injured and go without treatment. The most common health problems we see are upper respiratory infections and skin disorders caused or worsened by living out in the open. We also see high-risk pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, consequences of drug and alcohol abuse, and injuries from fights or accidents. In both Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, nurses staff our on-site clinics five days a week. All emergencies are handled immediately by referral to urgent care resources in the community.
15. What is your success rate?
Since we are a short-term crisis-intervention program, we are 100% successful in meeting the immediate needs of the kids who come to us. But Covenant House Florida is a voluntary program. Kids come and go by their own choice — so we can measure only if they fulfilled their plan before leaving. And over a third do.
For the kids who don’t stay with our program, we hope that our caring and respect have made a difference in their lives. These kids are not necessarily unsuccessful — they’re simply “unknowns.” We don’t have any way of tracking what happens to them unless they get in touch with us, however, many have written or called to tell us how much we meant to them when they were really down and no one else would help.
Through the years, countless teens and young adults have told us how much it mattered that we accepted them in their hour of need. Often, they credit Covenant House Florida with saving their lives and affording them opportunities to reach their goals, including former residents now in college, serving in the armed forces, or working stable jobs and taking care of families of their own.
16. Do you offer services for kids after they leave the crisis shelter?
In addition to some short-term aftercare services, our transitional housing projects (Rights of Passage) provide supportive independent living assistance for older adolescents.
17. Do you teach the kids about God?
We don’t evangelize youth or staff, however we do offer pastoral ministry to those who want to participate. Our Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando shelters have chapels where residents may voluntarily pursue spiritual expression and growth. Most of the kids are not Catholic, some are not Christian, but many value the opportunity to talk to God about their broken lives.
18. Are you a Catholic agency supported by the Catholic Church?
We are a Catholic agency, endorsed by church authorities in the Archdiocese of Miami, the Diocese of Orlando, and other Florida Dioceses, but the institutional church does not fund our program. Much of our support comes from individuals of various faiths and houses of worship of all denominations.
We do not discriminate on the basis of race or religion in providing services to kids or in staffing (employees and volunteers).
19. What is your stand on birth control and abortion?
Covenant House is unequivocally pro-life in reaching out to thousands of runaway, throwaway, and homeless kids each year. One of the most important ways we help these troubled kids is by respecting them. By our words and actions, we let them know they are important and worthwhile.
We educate the kids about the risks of adolescent sexuality and teach them to respect themselves. We do not dispense birth control or assist in any arrangements for abortions. However, we do not judge our kids’ pasts. If a girl seeks our help after an abortion, we accept her without recrimination.
20. Are you a United Way agency?
We do not receive direct funding from United Way, however we benefit from contributions from individuals throughout the state who write us in as a recipient of their donations.
21. What are your annual expenses, and where does the funding come from?
Our fiscal year runs from July 1st through June 30th. Last year, our expenses totaled $9,700,000, 80% dedicated toward program services, the remainder for fund-raising and administration. Most of our funding — 80% — came from private sources including individuals, corporations, foundations, special events, and Covenant House corporate support. The remainder was from government grants.
22. May donors designate their gifts for a particular site or service?
Most of our donors want us to use their contributions where they are needed most, however we honor all special designations. To save administrative costs, all donations, including those specified for Orlando, are processed in Ft. Lauderdale.
23. How many people are on your staff?
We are currently budgeted for a combined total of 107 staff members (78 in Ft. Lauderdale and 29 in Orlando). That number is high due to the need for shelter coverage three shifts a day, seven days a week. Over 80% of our staff is involved in direct care including outreach, case management, therapy, substance abuse treatment, health services, food services, and aftercare. Covenant House Florida's other personnel includes administration, accounting, fund-raising, operations, public relations, and human resources (personnel/volunteers). We are also fortunate to have the help of several full-time faith volunteers. In Ft. Lauderdale, our kids benefit from volunteers from Covenant House Faith Community whose participants commit to a stint ranging from three months to a year or more of simple living, daily prayer for the mission of Covenant House, and work at one of the Covenant House sites. Also, in both Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, we are grateful for help from a member of Catholic Volunteers in Florida. In addition, we have 72 part-time volunteers in Ft. Lauderdale and 14 part-time volunteers in Orlando. We ask volunteers to commit a minimum of four hours a week for at least six months.
24. Are there other programs like Covenant House Florida? Where are they?
There are other shelters for runaway youth in many cities, but most are small (10-15 beds), and few serve youths age 18-20. Covenant House Florida is part of an international agency with 20 programs in eleven U.S. States — Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York (headquarters), Pennsylvania, and Texas, and Washington, D.C. plus Canada, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Together, Covenant House programs served 70,000 youths last year.
25. Who heads Covenant House?
Covenant House, which is headquartered in New York City, is governed by a voluntary corporate Board of Directors. Kevin M. Ryan is the President of Covenant House.
Each site also has its own Board whose volunteer members are appointed by the corporate Board and an Executive Director who manages site services and administration. James M. Gress, who served in direct care and program administration positions from the agency’s inception in 1985, is the Executive Director of Covenant House Florida with leadership responsibility for both the Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando programs.
26. Isn’t it depressing to work/volunteer at Covenant House Florida?
It’s outrageous that kids should ever be in the situations our kids have been in. But Covenant House Florida is a safe, loving place. So, our work isn’t depressing — it’s affirming and hopeful.
27. What does Covenant House Florida need?
Covenant House Florida relies primarily on partnership from over 51,000 individuals from throughout Florida to reach out and respond to troubled youth. You can help.
- Contribute financially — every dollar makes a difference:
- Donate essentials, especially hygiene supplies, baby items, and clothing — most of our kids wear adult sizes, and they need casual items like jeans and sneakers plus business attire for job interviews and work
- Volunteer — opportunities are available in both program and support areas
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