Author Archives: Kelsey Peter

We were honored to be featured on The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s blog post earlier this month in an article about Motivational Interviewing. Motivational Interviewing (MI), an evidence-based practice that promotes empathetic conversations, helps young people experiencing homelessness by pinpointing their motivations to make change. MI has been shown particularly effective for individuals dealing with depression, anxiety or other mental health issues.

With funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, we’ve partnered with mental health technology startup Lyssn to train staff in MI, helping the young people we serve embrace change and achieve their dreams. We are so grateful for partners like Lyssn and the Annie E. Casey Foundation — it takes a village to do the work that needs to be done to support young people experiencing homelessness.

To read more about Motivational Interviewing and how it’s utilized at CHNY, read The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s blog post here.

On Thursday, October 10th, we celebrated our new Bronx site opening at Croes Avenue with a housewarming party! The Garden of Dreams Foundation threw an incredible celebration for the moms and their babies who will be moving into the building in the coming weeks. Family Over Everything Foundation (FOE) also attended and provided amazing diaper gift bags for our moms with tons of self-care treats inside.

Our evening began with an opening speech by CHNY Executive Director, Nancy Downing. Representatives from Garden of Dreams and FOE also spoke and offered warm welcomes to the mothers and their children before a buffet-style dinner was provided.

The moms and babies also enjoyed a playpen, various arts and crafts, and even had their portraits drawn by talented caricaturists! The evening was filled with fun and laughter.  We’re so excited for the moms in our Mother & Child program to start this new chapter in their lives, and we’re so grateful to the organizations like Garden of Dreams and FOE who help make events like this possible!

We were so excited to officially break ground on the new Covenant House New York on September 19! We hosted an incredible, star-studded ceremony at the construction site, which is also our current shelter location on 41st street and 10th avenue.  Guests included CBS News’ John Dickerson, Broadway star Audra McDonald, several prominent government officials and community members, and former Covenant House youth who spoke powerfully to CHNY’s importance in providing a safe place for young people experiencing homelessness.

Covenant House International’s president, Kevin Ryan, summed up the purpose of our new building by explaining that “the new Covenant House New York will put housing support, shelter, health care, educational services, job training, and civil legal services under one roof… It will be a place where young people overcoming homelessness and human trafficking in New York City can come to build their new lives.”

Sister Nancy Downing, Executive Director for Covenant House New York, spoke to how far we’ve come as an organization and how excited we are to look toward the future: “For over four decades, young people overcoming homelessness in New York City have found safety and shelter from the streets at Covenant House,” she said. “Now, for the first time in our history, we are designing a new residential facility to address all of the specific needs of our youth, allowing us to provide robust services and coordinated care, expanding the scope of our work and the number of young people that we can serve.”

Also in attendance were several donors who have made the campaign to build a new Covenant House New York possible — including Strauss Zelnick and his wife, Wendy Belzberg. We are so grateful to the generosity of the donors that have helped us on our endeavor to raise $128 million for a purpose-built, all-inclusive shelter for young people to call home.

We’re so grateful to everyone who celebrated with us on this momentous occasion and to all the staff who made an event like this possible.  We could not have pulled off such a successful groundbreaking ceremony — and lighting up the Empire State Building (casual!) — without such dedicated members of the Covenant House Community.  Thanks for joining us in our mission to end youth homelessness!

Earlier in August we began to slowly open our Bronx site at Glebe Avenue. This site consists of three residential floors and an administrative area in the basement, with each program having access to separate, secured entrances.

The second and third floor houses 20 single males who are part of CHNY’s R.O.P transitional living program, with the first floor providing housing for single females. This site features a kitchen, a spacious common area with large sectional couches and a T.V. as well as modern shower facilities and an elevator. There is also a laundry room available for residents.

We’re so grateful to all of the staff and funders who made opening this site possible — we’re so excited for these young people to have a fresh start in a beautiful, modern space they can call home.

This year’s Sleep Out: Stage and Screen was one for the books. On Monday, August 19, over 100 participants form the television, film and Broadway industries raised more than $367,000 for young people experiencing homelessness.

This sleep out took place at the Javits Center in the Hudson Yards neighborhood and began with a welcome dinner for sleepers.  Food was followed by programming, featuring video blurbs about the issue of youth homelessness and a presentation by one of our young people, Chyna, and her creative idea to run a campaign promoting self-love.  Next, participants enter break-out panel groups where they learn more about Covenant House New York, work with young people on mapping their careers based on their aspirations, or jam out with other young people in a music room.

After panels, all participants, staff, youth and volunteers came together for an incredible group sing-along to Beyoncé’s “I Was Here,” followed by our own version of Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me.” After the awe-inspiring performances, sleepers headed to the outdoor space at the Javits Center to sleep out for a once-in-a-lifetime experience sleeping out to end youth homelessness.  Thanks so much to everyone who participated!