Frequently
Asked Questions
How do the kids find out about Covenant House Florida? Do you call their parents? What do they do all day? Isn't it depressing to work at Covenant House Florida?
Look below to find the answers to these and other
questions we hear from donors, students, and other interested people.
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1.
How do the kids find out about Covenant House Florida? 2.
What are the admission criteria, i.e. what do kids have to do to get into
Covenant House Florida?
3.
Where do the kids come from? 4.
Do you call the kids' parents? 5.
How do you know the kids are telling the truth about who they are and
what they've been through? 6.
What do the kids do all day? 7.
Do the kids help around the center? 8.
Do you ever kick them out/ask them to leave? 9.
How many kids a day do you care for? 11.
What is the age of the youngest kids who have come to Covenant
House Florida? 12. What is your relationship with the police and with others in the
community? 13.
How long do the kids stay? 14.
What do you do when kids are sick or get injured? 15.
What is your success rate? 16.
Do you offer services for kids after they leave the crisis
shelter? 17.
Do you teach the kids about God? 18.
Are you a Catholic agency supported by the Catholic Church? 19.
What is your stand on birth control and abortion? 20.
Are you a United Way agency? 21.
What are your annual expenses, and where does the funding come from?
22.
May donors designate their gift for a particular site or
service? 23.
How many people are on your staff? 24.
Are there other
programs like Covenant House Florida? Where are they? 26.
Isn't it depressing to work/volunteer at Covenant House
Florida? 27.
What does Covenant House Florida need?
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 transportation to our center 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's founding and guiding value is
Open Intake. Quite simply, it means
we will not turn away any youth under 21 seeking initial help any time, 24 hours
a day, 365 days a year. We are
available without discrimination to kids from any
geographic location or socio-economic, ethnic, or cultural background.
Youths
under 21, including pregnant girls or teen mothers with their children, need
only to walk through the door, and we will begin to meet their basic needs
immediately.
We will also accept adolescents from other
organizations when returning home is not an option, when no other agency
placement exists, and when Covenant House Florida is an appropriate setting—provided
the youths enter our crisis shelter voluntarily and they haven't had a previous
stay at Covenant House that resulted in a restriction to their re-entry. We recognize that many troubled teens are unable to adapt to our structure or follow through on their plan the first time they come for help, and sometimes subsequent times. Most kids who leave Covenant House Florida are able to return to our crisis shelter. They may need to fulfill some time-out or required tasks or be on a waiting list temporarily if the census warrants re-entry limitations for safety considerations. All former residents have the opportunity and right to appeal any shelter re-entry impediment to our ombudsperson, who evaluates the current needs and situations of the youths as well as the resources of the agency, and makes recommendations regarding re-admission. 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?
Kids
who have lived on the street have learned how to con and manipulate, but in
order to stay at Covenant House Florida, the kids 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 education including
classes toward high school equivalency for older kids and full-time school for
younger teens (on-site in Ft. Lauderdale; at area schools in Orlando), 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 physic-ally or
verbally abusing other residents or staff. 9.
How many kids a day do you care for? Every day, we reach over 190 kids in Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando via street outreach, crisis shelters, transitional housing projects, and aftercare, making Covenant House Florida one of the largest private agencies serving runaway and homeless youth in the state of Florida. 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?
Our covenant is to accept all kids under 21 who
come to us for help, and 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 9-12 years old, 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. 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 22-year history in Ft.
Lauderdale and 12-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 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 almost $9.5 million, 78% dedicated toward program services, the remainder
for fund-raising and administration. Most of our
funding—78%—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
have a combined total of 131 full-time staff members (approximately 94 in
Ft. Lauderdale and 37 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 year 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 75 part-time volunteers in Ft. Lauderdale and 10
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 (10-20 beds), and few serve youths age 18-20.
Covenant House Florida is part of an international agency with 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, Guatemala, Honduras,
Mexico, and Nicaragua. Together, Covenant House programs served 65,849
youths last year.
Covenant
House, which is headquartered in New York City, is governed by a voluntary
corporate Board of Directors. Sister Patricia A. Cruise, a Sister of Charity of
Cincinnati, 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.
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