New Services at CHMO
Posted by admin | Filed under Announcements
Thanks to a grant from MHB (Mental Health Board), CHMO will be expanding their services to include mental health care for our youth. Three new positions have been established in order to recognize, evaluate, diagnose and treat mental illness. Psychiatrist, Dr. Daniel Mamah, will be here on a part time basis to diagnose and prescribe medication. Brenda Elfgen is our new full time Mental Health Care Specialist who will be on site for counseling and evaluations. Blair Fingland, one of our former Outreach Workers has taken on the position of After Care Specialist. Blair will be doing follow up care for those diagnosed with mental illness once they leave CHMO. Blair will also continue doing Outreach but her focus will be on identifying homeless youth with mental illness.
Mental Health issues affect a significant number of our youth. They go undiagnosed in many cases because of a lack of health care, a fear of being labeled or a mistrust of doctors and institutions. Helping these youth get the care they need will have a tremendous impact on stabilizing their life situation and enabling them to move toward productivity. The After Care follow up will allow us to gather crucial data on how effective our programs are and give our youth who have left CHMO an ongoing support system.
Tags: Covenant House, homeless youth, Mental Health Board, mental illness
A Bittersweet Goodbye
Posted by admin | Filed under Covenant House Youth
Nigeria (a youth in our Transitional Living Program) moved to her own apartment yesterday. Nigeria lived at CHMO for about a year and a half and has left her mark on all of us. She was and will continue to be an active member of our Youth Advisory Council as well as a CHMO Young Professional. She represented CHMO at various community events, met the Mayor, traveled to Jefferson City and was a role model to many young women. Nigeria is working on attaining her CNA and hopes to one day be a nurse. On top of all her schooling and activities, she’s also maintained a job in the hotel industry. She was able to increase her savings and advance to independent living by qualifying for an Individual Development Account through the United Way. It’s always hard to say goodbye but her success at CHMO is a strong indication of her desire to succeed beyond CHMO. All the best Nigeria! We’ll miss your smile and warm heart.
Nigeria and her Case Manager, Tarra
Tags: Covenant House, IDA program, United Way, Youth Success
Jessee is off to School!
Posted by admin | Filed under Covenant House Youth
One of our youth will be moving out of CHMO today and moving into his new dorm room on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University. He’ll be working on his general studies degree, minoring in Theology. His goal is to eventually get his PhD in Archeology and Egyptology. He has mixed emotions about going, “I’m excited but I’m also not sure about moving on, this is the only place that’s felt like home.” High praise for Covenant House but a sad commentary on the places our youth come from. Good luck Jessee, we believe in you!
Tags: Covenant House, Harris-Stowe, homeless youth, Youth Success
100+ Women Who Care
Posted by admin | Filed under Announcements
100+ Women Who Care is a group of women committed to making a difference in our community. The group of 100 women (or more) meets three times a year to decide on a local organization or cause to support. The group listens to three organizations speak and then votes on which one will recieve their support. Each woman has agreed to write a check for $100 to whatever organization is chosen… $10,000+ is awarded. Covenant House Missouri was chosen at their last meeting!! Thank you 100+ Women for your support and for all you’ve done to help our community!
Tags: 100+ women who care, CHMO, community, homeless youth
WUMP!
Posted by admin | Filed under Covenant House Youth, Events
We are grateful for all the time Washington University Medical Plunge spent at CHMO last week. About 50 first year med students participated in teaching various life skill classes to our youth. The topics included stress management, nutrition, basic health, managing credit and more. The students also helped us get our girls’ crisis rooms and living area completely repainted! To conclude their week of volunteer work, the students prepared dinner at CHMO for their participants and our youth. The WUMP students were treated to an impromptu taste of the talent our youth possess when Derrick recited some of his poetry and Brittany, Victoria and LaTonia shared their beautiful singing voices. It was a great way for our youth to show their gratitude to the students for a wonderful meal and their week of service.
Tags: Covenant House Missouri, homeless youth, volunteer, Washington University
CHMO Youth Give Back
Posted by admin | Filed under Covenant House Youth, Events
The Shoppers
Residents in our Transitional Living Program recently had the opportunity to reach out to young mothers in need. Thanks to a grant from MHB, the youth were able to shower the girls with baby gifts and necessities. Our young men did all the shopping and wrapping (a new experience for all of them) and the young women took the gifts to the mothers at Good Shepherd. The girls enjoyed meeting the mothers and babies and commented on how good it felt to be able to help them. Our youth will present their project to the board members of MHB in August. Funding for future projects will be determined based on their presentation. Good Luck TLP, we’re proud of you!
Tags: Covenant House, Good Shepherd, homeless youth, MHB
Lightning Strikes!
Posted by admin | Filed under Announcements
Last night, CHMO found itself in the midst of a powerful storm and was struck by lightning. The bolt hit our roof and blew stones in every direction, one fell strategically through our beautiful awning, several ended up on Kingshighway. If you look at the picture of our building, the stones that were hit supported the 1000 pound cross on our roof peak. The cross did not fall but firefighters knew the chances of it falling were real. Our dedicated facility manager Dan, waited until 5:00 this morning for cranes to remove the cross and set it safely in our yard. No one was hurt, the cross is in one piece, a small dent is visible on the building but all in all, the Cov prevailed!
Tags: CHMO, Covenant House Missouri Blog, homeless youth
A Story From One of Our Youth…
Posted by admin | Filed under Covenant House Youth
When I stated off at Covenant House, there were problems with me and my mother at home. While I felt that I should go to school and work towards personal development, my mother thought that I should go to school and work to pay bills. I didn’t believe in that so I tried to talk to her and explain what I felt. She didn’t believe in such things and thought that life was all about making it, without trying to make a life before life began. So we got into a big argument and I left. Originally getting put out, I just left to keep the peace. I had gotten a letter to Covenant House about six months prior for some reason thinking that I might need them down the line, just didn’t know what for. I guess I found out why. I came to Covenant House the day after the memorial holiday in 2008. I never thought that I would be out into that type of situation. I been in and out of foster care my entire life, but never in a homeless shelter, even when I was homeless!!! But Covenant House changed that for me. After coming to Covenant House, I became more independent. I never really caught a bus anywhere in my life. I was used to not having a lot, but for the most part, a bus was not a part of my transportation routine. But I became more reliable on myself. Anything and everything that I had to do, I had to do it for myself. I never really talked to anyone when I had a problem, never really depended on anyone for anything because I never really had anyone but myself and my brother to help me. But covenant house showed me a whole new light. When I didn’t have a way to work or just wanted a ride, they did help me but they also informed me that it was now time for me to learn responsibility and how to become more independent. This made me more conscious of the things that I did during the day and after school so that I could make time to sleep and make time to get to work. More so than anything, Covenant House gave me confidence. When I was at home I never partook in any activity that involved people. I am not really a sociable person, but that changed as well. I have done more here than I have ever done in my entire life!! I have met the mayor, met senators, held conferences where issues for teens and young adults are more prone to the disaster at hand than anyone else. I have done many things and in light of it all, it was mainly because of Covenant House. When everything a person lacks and doesn’t want because it was never given to them is offered, they receive it whether they want to or not. You’re not homeless, you move from one family to another. You see the constant love and affection that the staff provides in many different ways, and you then learn that you are not just some homeless youth or young adult, you are someone that these people truely care about and know that they work to help you provide a better future for yourself. So, when you leave, you can look back at everything that has happened in your life, and say, one of the best things that has happened to me was Covenant House and the people there. In the future someone else will be able to receive help because of the lasting impression that was left on your heart!!! I thank Covenant House for all that they have done for me, and because of this I am a much better person than I was a year ago. I have more confidence, strength, and the will to continue to move forward!!
Tags: CHMO, Covenant House, homeless youth, Youth Success
Thanks Sound Foundation!
Posted by admin | Filed under Events
Covenant House youth and staff were treated to the incredible talents of the “Sound Foundation” on June 30. This is a group of 40 some young singers from the First Baptist Church of Russelville, AK, led by the spirited Tommy Havens. They spent a week in St. Louis singing, working with young children and sharing their faith. Covenant House is so grateful for their visit and voices!
- The Sound Foundation singing for CHMO
Tags: CHMO, Covenant House Blog, homeless youth, Sound Foundation
Habitat for Humanity
Posted by admin | Filed under Covenant House Youth, Events
13 of our youth (and two of our staff) are spending the day giving back to the community on a Habitat for Humanity build. Encouraging our youth to volunteer and providing the opportunity to do so is a priority at CHMO. Working on the Habitat site is also a great way for our youth to learn new skills and meet people dedicated to improving the lives of others and changing our city for the better.
Tags: Covenant House Missouri Blog, Habitat for Humanity, homeless youth
