Covenant House Vancouver Strives to be a Safe and Inclusive Space for All Youth

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Introducing the #CHVCatchUp, a new monthly series featuring the latest updates and news from Covenant House Vancouver team. Miss604 is proud to be the Official Blog Partner of CHV.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, gender non-binary and two spirited youth are overrepresented in the homeless community. Covenant House Vancouver strongly believes all youth deserve unconditional love and absolute respect and LGBTQ2S+ youth are of course no exception.

Did You Know?

25-40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ2S+
Family rejection is the most common cause of LGBTQ2S+ youth homelessness
LGBTQ2S+ youth are much more likely to struggle with mental health concerns, including suicide
Covenant House Vancouver takes a trauma-informed, resilience-focused approach to accompanying the youth in their care
Staff participate in specialized training to ensure they have the necessary knowledge and awareness to create a welcoming space for LGBTQ2S+ youth

Andrew Finally Felt at Home

Andrew came to Covenant House Vancouver’s Crisis Program because his parents were not accepting of his gender identity. Before coming to Covenant House, Andrew had never lived anywhere other than his parents’ house. It was clear from his timid interactions with staff and other residents, that Andrew was not comfortable living at Covenant House in the beginning.

Covenant House Vancouver strives to be a safe and inclusive space for all youth and young people self-identify which Crisis Program is right for them. When Andrew told his parents he was a guy, they told him that he would only ever be a girl to them. Read about Andrew’s journey and how Covenant House Vancouver was a support to him.