Ebony’s Story
Posted by Sue Wagener | Filed under Covenant House Youth
In just four months, 19-year-old Ebony’s life changed in ways she never could have imagined.
“If you want to get somewhere in life, you just have to go for it. I took a chance. I just put God on my side,” said Ebony. With an attitude like this, it is hard to believe that just four months ago, Ebony was homeless and without hope.
Prior to being homeless, Ebony lived in New Orleans, Louisiana with her mother, who was in an abusive relationship. Ebony knew she needed to get away, but she didn’t know where to turn. She saved as much money as she could to buy a ticket on the bus out of town.
“I didn’t really know where to go so I just decided to go to somewhere far away,” she said. Upon arriving in Memphis, Tennessee, Ebony decided to get back on the road again, purchasing a ticket to St. Louis. When she arrived in St. Louis, she was surprised by the cold weather.
“I had never experienced cold like this before,” she explained. So she continued travelling by bus until she knew she only had enough money for one more ticket. In her heart, she felt she needed to go back to St. Louis.
When she arrived in St. Louis the second time, she met and befriended a Samaritan who allowed Ebony to stay in her home for a night. The next day, Ebony met another woman, told the woman about her situation, and the woman called the police.
“They took me to this shelter, but it just didn’t look right. I was really glad when I didn’t have to stay there,” she said. Fortunately, the police were able to get in touch with the staff at Covenant House Missouri, and they were able to welcome Ebony into their emergency crisis program. Ebony’s biggest surprise when she arrived at Covenant House was how nice the living space was. She says, “It was not what I thought a shelter would be.”
Eventually, Ebony made the next step into the Transitional Living program. Ebony has been living at Covenant House for about four months now, and she has accomplished more in that time than she could have dreamed.
“I’ve been working hard on my GED. I just have one more test to see if I get it, but I’ve taken the practice test,” she said. “I am also working with the Garden Rangers as my job.” Ebony now has goals for her future that include continuing to work toward her GED, keep her part time job, attending college and eventually becoming a registered nurse.
“I just keep setting goals for myself. I feel like now I really have potential,” she says. “I’ve had a lot of down times in my life, and since I’ve been here at Covenant House, things are coming around.”
Tags: Youth Success
Maurice’s Story
Posted by Sue Wagener | Filed under Covenant House Youth
“God’s Purpose” By Maurice
When I came to Covenant House I was at a point where I felt there was no point to go on living. I was torn mentally. I had been running from a family who obviously didn’t want me to be a part of it. I felt that everyone God had placed in my life as an influence was not very influential at all. I did extreme things to escape the life and environment of drug use and the downward spiral to destruction. Growing up in an environment where drugs, gangs, police chases and killings are everyday events, it’s hard to be different.
I thought God had given up on me, and had put me on earth without a purpose. I asked myself, “What am I doing wrong?” My pastor suggested a place where I could go and be myself, a place where people wouldn’t judge me by what I had or didn’t have. He showed me the Covenant House website and I decided to give it a try.
There are so many programs to help broken kids get back on track. What I like about CHMO is that everyone is here for the same purpose: to better themselves. Covenant House is the best thing to happen in my life.
I now know who I am. I know what I am worth to God and the world. Covenant House helped me to find God’s purpose and in that, peace and satisfaction. I have new goals. My past is just that, and I refuse to let it determine my future. I want to use the skills I have learned to make me into someone’s favorite English teacher and eventually, principal.
I believe that is God’s purpose.
Holly’s Story
Posted by Sue Wagener | Filed under Covenant House Youth
Eighteen-year-old “Holly” grew up in the war torn West African nation of Liberia. Her family came to America in 2005 to escape a civil war that had engulfed her native country.
Holly’s childhood story is not one of fairytale princesses and Barbie dolls. She speaks of war, death and violence when describing her childhood. “The warlords were killing my family. I lost aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers, and neighbors” says Holly. “They wanted control of the government and were killing anyone who opposed them.”
After Holly’s father was killed in the war, the U.S. Government brought most of her family to St. Louis for a new beginning. That’s where you might expect Holly’s story would improve but unfortunately more turmoil was ahead.
In 2005 Holly enrolled at Roosevelt High School in St. Louis. Roosevelt High School was one of several St. Louis public schools on a state watch list for not meeting academic criteria. Holly describes her first public school experience as chaotic. “The black Americans fight a lot and the principal had no control but now things are better.” The good news for Holly is that she is still on track to graduate in 2009.
Holly and her siblings were living with their grandmother at various residences around St. Louis. Her grandmother received food stamps to help feed the children but for reasons Holly could never understand her grandmother would not share the food with the kids.
“I would complain to my caseworker that we were not getting any food” says Holly but she was never able to get her grandmother to change. Holly felt she needed to get a job and that made her grandmother angry. “She did not want me to work and wanted me to look after the grand children instead.”
Every time Holly would come home from work her grandmother would lock her out of the house. There were many nights when Holly had no place to stay and would rely on a friend for shelter. “The caseworker would talk to mom but no results” says Holly.
After several weeks of living with her friend Holly came to Covenant House of Missouri in October and is now living in her own apartment and still going to school. “Because I’m staying here everything is cool. I can go to school, work and doing everything for myself.”
Holly is currently working part-time as a custodian at Purina but hopes to become a nurse in the near future. The staff at Covenant House has helped her apply to be accepted at the nursing school programs of four different community colleges around St. Louis.
In five years Holly wants to be finished with college, working in a hospital, and living in her own home. Holly credits the staff of Covenant House for helping her reach her goals. “It’s cool now for me… all the people here taking me places and gave me a gift card for Christmas and shopping for food.” It’s the little things that we all take for granted that can make a big difference for some people.
Tags: Youth Success
Brittney’s Story
Posted by Sue Wagener | Filed under Covenant House Youth
Brittney is a 19-year-old female from North St. Louis who wants others to learn from her experiences.
Brittney grew up in a large family of five children. Her parents divorced when she was 13-years-old and at that point her brothers and sisters were split up. Brittney went to live with her mother and that’s when she learned some hard lessons about life.
“My mom had chest pains and passed out. She wound up in the hospital and we were put out of our apartment because mom couldn’t pay rent” says Brittney who wound up staying with various relatives until her mom got healthy again.
At age 16 Brittney was still living with her mom but she became rebellious and dropped out of high school. “I wanted to get into the Job Corps but they wouldn’t let me in” says Brittney. “Mom tried to talk me back into school but it was too late.”
Brittney’s mother moved her to South St. Louis when she was 17. It was there that Brittney met a new friend named Tanisha who recommended her to Covenant House of Missouri. “I looked to Covenant House for job training” says Brittney who received her job training certificate not long after signing up. “They helped me find work, learn how to dress, talk, and have basic presentation skills.”
Brittney is now employed at a retail store in South St. Louis while she works on her GED through Covenant House. “I took the test in early February and I hope to get the results soon” says Brittney. It’s important to her that she does well on the test because she wants to attend college soon.
A few things have changed in Brittney’s life since she came to Covenant House Missouri. She has made a couple of good friends and is back in contact with two of her brothers and her older sister. “I’ve been telling them about my experience here and that I’m doing good. I’m also helping my mom out with rent and the bills. They are proud of me.”
On many occasions Brittney dreams about becoming a model but she realizes that a backup plan is needed in case that doesn’t work. Brittney’s backup plan is to attend Forest Park College to get her nursing degree. “I want to work in a hospital one day and have my own home, a husband, and two or three kids.”
Brittney has an inspirational message for others who are looking to meet the challenges of life. “You’ve got to look at life as a challenge and you have to keep working hard at it. If you fall down you get back up.”
Overcoming shyness has been difficult for Brittney but she wants others to know about her positive experiences at Covenant House. “Mrs. Kristi, Mrs. Eileen, Mr. Kevin, and Mrs. Jessica have all been very helpful…very sweet kind people with big hearts. Follow me and you’ll be led somewhere that’s peaceful, with love, help and care and not be afraid. They’ll love you like family.”
Meet Bolt!
Posted by Sue Wagener | Filed under Announcements
Covenant House has a new addition! Meet Bolt, an Australian Labradoodle. Bolt was given to CHMO as a donation for last week’s annual Gala auction. He spent a few weeks living in our offices prior to the auction and was a big hit with staff and youth. A generous donor bought him at the auction with the intention of having him spend lots of time at CHMO. He’s having a great time roaming offices, running through the halls and bringing smiles to the faces of our youth. THANKS JEFF!
Bolt posing at the front desk of CHMO
Tags: Annual Gala, Covenant House Missouri
Job Alliance Graduation
Posted by Sue Wagener | Filed under Announcements, Covenant House Youth
The Graduates!
Last night, six of our youth graduated from the Job Alliance St. Louis, pilot program for youth. Job Alliance is a biblically-based job training program seeking change from the inside out. In serving the under-employed and the unemployed, for many, Job Alliance is the key that unlocks the door to their future. The participants attend 16, 2-hour sessions over the course of eight weeks. Classes teach career planning, job search, workplace ethics, integrity, and understanding authority, all on a biblical basis. Teachers and mentors come from St. Louis area churches, businesses and educational institutions. The program at Covenant House was the first designed specifically for youth. We are grateful to Pastor Ken Jenkins and his Job Alliance team for sharing their time and gifts with CHMO. We are proud of Maurice, Derrick, Brittaney, Sympyo, Lauren, and Vicky for completing and committing themselves to this powerful program.
Tags: Covenant House, Employment, Job Alliance, Youth Success
Bernie Hayes Show
Posted by Sue Wagener | Filed under Covenant House Youth, Events
CHMO resident Maurice, recently participated in a panel discussion on the Bernie Hayes Show (WGNU, 920AM) featuring youth who are positively impacting the community. The discussion was led by author and community activist, Jamala Rogers. One of her goals was to help the public realize how committed many youth are to making a difference and doing positive things that impact our city. Each youth talked about different projects they’d been involved in designed to better someone else’s situation. Maurice talked about the baby basket project he and other CHMO youth participated in earlier this year that benefitted young mothers at Good Shepherd. We’re proud of all these young people and hopeful for a generation who are learning how crucial it is to reach out and make a difference.
Maurice at the radio station
Youth panel
Tags: Bernie Hayes, Covenant House Missouri, Jamala Rogers, WGNU, Youth Success
Volunteer Story: Pastor Clayton Pasley
Posted by Sue Wagener | Filed under Volunteers
Pastor Clayton Pasley is one of those volunteers whose dedication is a true blessing. Clayton has been coming to CHMO weekly for the past year to work with our youth on a spiritual basis. Every Monday at 11:00, his smiling face and good heart are a welcome sight. “I have a passion to make a difference in the lives of these youth. I want to inspire them to make good decisions. I want them to know that even though someone may have counted them out, God does not count them out” says Clayton. “My prayer for them is that God will see to it that their worst days are behind them and their best days are before them.” Thank you for your time and spirit Clayton!
