Oakland’s Covenant House
Volunteer and be a part of the solution to Bay Area homeless youth
By Sean Sullivan

Oct 29 | archive | subscribe

The Bay Area, is wonderfully vast and diverse and yet fraught with seemingly intractable problems, homelessness being top among them.  We see adults panhandling, sleeping, screaming in the street. We wonder rhetorically, what can we do? We move on only to wonder again, perhaps with more anger at the next occurrence. We demand answers and actions from our elected leaders and become angrier or disaffected by not seeing results.  Covenant House is a solution. 

Covenant House provides a refuge, a way out of the streets for homeless and abandoned youth.  Homeless youth aren’t often part of the conversation around homelessness but being homeless as a teen is the leading indicator of chronic homelessness as an adult.  On November 8th, Covenant House will open Oakland’s only 24 hour, 7 day a week shelter serving homeless teens.

Housed in California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s former commune, the Jack London District oasis will serve as a way out of homelessness for thirty youth each day and night. The young people there aren’t being given a hand outs, they’re being given a hand up to a way out of homelessness.

In addition to a bed, shower, food provided youth gets the tools to succeed on their own, a GED, access to college, a fast track to employment, skills to stay employed and the things most of us take for granted, unconditional love, absolute respect and total support. 

There are many ways weekyphil.com readers can be part of this solution, by mentoring, donating, learning more, volunteering, but not by getting angry. Covenant House desperately needs your help to make the cold lonely nights on the streets of Oakland and Hollywood a little warmer for the homeless kids who come to their doorsteps.

Covenant House relies on private individuals like you for over 75% of our support and monthly donors are particularly valuable. Please help us help these homeless kids by giving today. covdove.org