Supporting More Youth on Their Journey
On any given night in Metro Vancouver, there are over 1,000 youth who are experiencing homelessness. Young people face unique challenges that are often not addressed by services designed for adults. That’s why dedicated spaces and supports, like those provided by Covenant House Vancouver, are so important.
Sheldon’s Journey
Sheldon only knew Alberta. He was born there and spent his youth with his family. He went to school, just like everyone else. But then, everything changed. Sheldon lost both his parents. He felt lost. He had no plan, no guidance, no direction.
He was always drawn to the West Coast. He didn’t know why. He didn’t know anyone and didn’t know anything about it. But one day, he got up and started walking to BC.
As you can image, it was quite a trek. When he arrived, he only knew of one 24-hour shelter. They directed him to Covenant House Vancouver.
Finding Himself
It was the early days of Covenant House Vancouver (CHV), when there was only one building. Sheldon was one of the first young people in their care. He recalls that there were only about 12 beds; and one of those was his. “At CHV, you actually got to sleep in your own bed, in your own room, and it felt like home again.”
CHV’s care has always been youth led and youth focused. Staff listened to Sheldon’s needs, desires, and ideas, and structured their support around those. He learned important life skills, such as cooking, that served him well in later years. Through CHV, Sheldon began to find himself, as he learned how to advocate for himself, and others.
“Covenant House helped me build my identity from the scared little kid. Being at Covenant House helped shaped who I am by bringing out the best parts of me. I got to spend time with myself and actually work on things I needed to work on.”
During a visit with his grandmother, she asked where Sheldon was living. When he told her, she brought out brochures and information about CHV. As it turns out, she had been supporting them for years. This impacted and inspired Sheldon, who, upon her passing, began to donate to CHV.
What is Sheldon doing today? “Now I run a treatment centre. For me, that’s full circle, because I’m giving back what was given to me when I first entered Covenant House.”
Supporting More Youth on Their Journeys
Since Sheldon’s days as a youth, Covenant House Vancouver has grown to meet the growing needs of young people. They have many beds across many programs. Last year, youth slept in beds at CHV over 45,000 times. They served over 1,000 youth. That’s 1,000 unique stories, like Sheldon’s.
Why should you care about vulnerable youth in the city? We all have our reasons, but as Sheldon sums it up, “I care because youth homelessness is everyone’s problem.”
Learn more and follow Covenant House Vancouver on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
The #CHVCatchUp is a monthly series featuring the latest updates and news from Covenant House Vancouver, written by the CHV team. Miss604 is proud to be the Official Blog Partner of CHV.
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