By: Ashmar Mandou

Covenant House International officially opened its first new shelter in over a decade at Lawson House located at 30 W. Chicago Avenue and will provide services exclusively to youth experiencing homelessness, expanding the city’s capacity to house youth by 13 percent. Based on 2016 Point-in-Time data, the City estimates that there are as many as 500 youth ages 16-24 experiencing homelessness on any given night in Chicago. “These are young people who have aged out of the foster care system – or, sadly, maybe never have had a stable, safe place to call home,” said Joseph Mole, the new executive director of Covenant House Illinois. “One-third of the homeless youth in our city have been thrown out of their homes by a parent or guardian for a variety of reasons. They need help to stay away from gangs, drug dealers, child traffickers and pimps who prey on these vulnerable youth. We give them support, compassion, a path out.”

Covenant House Illinois opened earlier this month to fill a critical need for youth ages 18-24 with drop-in services and safe daytime space when overnight shelters close in the morning. These services, which will be offered Tuesdays through Saturdays, include breakfast and lunch, showers, laundry, lockers for safe storage of personal belongings, crisis care, case management and a computer lab. Later in the year, Covenant House Illinois plans to add overnight shelter, beginning with 20 interim beds. “All of us at Covenant House are excited to be part of the collaborative and innovative community in Chicago that is working to end youth homelessness,” said Mark Hennessy, Board Chairman for Covenant House Illinois. “Chicago homeless young people have additional vulnerabilities because of the violence and weather, but they have the same dreams and aspirations as all our children. With the help of a very strong network of partners in Chicago, we look forward getting more young people away from the despair of the streets.”