Forgotten No More

FORGOTTEN

NO MORE

Housed in a nondescript building in the shadow of gleaming skyscrapers and high-end boutiques in Manhattan, Covenant House is a place of refuge and hope for teens and young adults left behind.

By Peter Feuerherd

The main center for Covenant House, the largest youth shelter in the world, is housed in a timeworn building in Midtown Manhattan. It’s hardly noticeable near the hubbub of the Port Authority, New York City’s bus station. Nearby are the gleaming towers of the newly constructed Hudson Yards, a testimony to the city’s privilege, where the landscape is overwhelmed by shopping centers dedicated to boutiques of every stripe.

Covenant House began in 1972. It grew out of what was dubbed the Minnesota Strip, a garish neighborhood filled with porn palaces and prostitutes who brazenly promoted their trade. The Minnesota Strip was named for those kids, both boys and girls, who landed on the streets after arriving via bus from the Midwest and quickly falling into prostitution, their Gotham dreams turned into nightmares.

Covenant House offered respite, a place where street kids could get their acts together.

New York is now a different place, seemingly more benign while still bustling. Natives, instead of complaining about porn palaces, gripe about the onslaught of tourists who crowd the sidewalks around Broadway’s theaters. The area, like most of Manhattan, reeks of money and privilege in many places.

Notre Dame Sister Nancy Downing, executive director of Covenant House New York, agrees that the bad old days of the city’s brazen urban tawdriness are largely past. But that doesn’t mean young people are not still being exploited. She estimates that about a quarter of the young people who come to Covenant House are victims of the sex trade, now largely conducted in the shadows and via the Internet.

New York, she says, “has changed on a visual level. But we are still seeing young people being trafficked.” On this July day, the streets are steamy. And, in a city where newspaper tabloids still have influence, the newsstand headlines shout about a Manhattan billionaire, with friends in very high places, being charged with sex trafficking of minors.

“People know about it [trafficking], but they don’t say anything,” says Sister Nancy. In many ways, the issues remain similar beneath a different veneer.

There’s a quiet outrage in her voice. Injustice against children was a galvanizing force in Sister Nancy’s vocation. She used to work in the insurance industry but found herself drawn, as an attorney, to assisting troubled youth through legal tangles of foster care, immigration, and other issues.

“I wanted to feel like I was making a difference in the world,” she says. Sister Nancy, now in her late 50s, described her calling as a late one, forged in large part by her interest in helping troubled youth.

A LIFELINE FOR THE FORGOTTEN Jason has been the recipient of an intensive process—it helps Covenant House, she emphasizes, offers more than an that he’s available during the day—which includes art, music, institutional cot and a hot meal. It is intended as a warm and life skills such as housekeeping and finances. embrace, a religious commitment to the most desperate of “We have to give them basic life skills,” says Sister Nancy. young people. It offers a comprehensive approach, a chance There is a kind of social work jargon ring to the phrase. But for young people to find not only a place for the night but she quickly offers some perspective to those without a degree also a way out of their family issues. in social work. Many of the Covenant House kids never

The center features a health clinic, mental health faciliexperienced the basics of a loving family life that many take ties, counseling rooms, and a makeshift chapel. The aim is for granted. to enhance the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of a One young woman came to Covenant House and was population often forgotten in today’s New York. offered a bed. She opted to sleep on the floor. The luxury of

The approach is intended to help troubled youth navigate a bed was unknown to her. She was comfortable on the floor. the difficult bridge to adulthood. “They are not used to having people That process can be difficult enough, take care of them,” Sister Nancy says of even for those from prosperous and many of those who come to Covenant caring homes. But for children born House’s doors. to the twin plagues of poverty and abuse, the obstacles can seem dauntA NEW LEADER AND A NEW VISION ing. The history of Covenant House has had

Jason, an 18-year-old Covenant its ups and downs. It began through House resident, is in many ways typithe work of Franciscan Father Bruce cal. But, like all residents, he has his Ritter, who left a tenured professorship own story. He’s from the borough of at Manhattan College to work on the Queens and found himself threatened streets of New York. with homelessness after his landlord Father Ritter began Covenant House, evicted him. He’s been at Covenant promoting its reputation as a haven House for two weeks. for the scandal of a decadent Times

Jason is not without resources. Square, which continued to shock the He works as a mechanic at a huge city’s conscience. In stirring fundraisbox store in Queens and travels the ing letters, he focused on vulnerable subway every night to get there, startyoungsters coming from out of town ing work at 6 p.m. and not leaving who fell prey to the city’s sex industry. until 6 a.m. His job involves 50–60 He expanded the work of the agency hours a week at $18 an hour, what to other US cities and overseas and might seem like a reasonable wage would speak passionately in more yet is hard to live on in New York’s Executive director Sister Nancy Downing has kept affluent suburban parishes around the rental market. He retains a modest Covenant House open during the COVID-19 pandemic. city, pointing out the horrors of sexual demeanor. exploitation of young people just a

“I don’t like asking anyone for anything,” he keeps repeatrailroad commute away. ing, seemingly emphasizing the point that his goal in life is But Father Ritter himself, while a master fundraiser and not to be a burden on anyone. He is working on getting his evangelist for the cause of troubled children, was a flawed high school equivalency. figure. At a time when the topic of priest sex abuse was

But circumstances have not been kind to him. He notes taboo, Father Ritter made headlines. He had been a cruthat his mother and sister live in a homeless shelter in sader against child exploitation but was credibly accused of Queens, so even at his young age there is no real home to sexual misconduct and financial irregularities. Some thought go to. He just got a $100 ticket for not paying for a subway Covenant House would not survive the human weakness of ride. Now he’s discovered that Covenant House will provide its founder exposed for the world to see. There were predicresidents with Metrocards, something he promises himself tions that the agency would fold. he will take advantage of. Father Ritter was dismissed by the Covenant House board

Shakeema North, director of youth development and and lived out his life in obscurity until his death in 1999. interfaith pastoral services for Covenant House, notes that While Father Ritter needed to be jettisoned, the concept the agency tries to fit in as much self-improvement and supof Covenant House remained, and the board worked to port as possible for the typical 60-day stay. salvage the operation.

“Many are trying to make their own way,” she says. Much A Daughter of Charity sister came to the rescue in 1990. of her work is spent on one-on-one counseling sessions. Her name was Sister Mary Rose McGeady. The new director

It is estimated that homeless youth in the United States alone could increase by as much as 45 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic. —From a study by Dr. Brendan O’Flaherty, an economics professor at Columbia University

Covenant House New York adopted safety measures for protec- tion during the corona- virus pandemic.

reworked the fundraisCHANGING LIVES IN ing letters, making 60 DAYS them closer to the realResidents range from ity of most Covenant 16 to 21 years of age. House clients. They (Those under 16, by rarely came from the law, can stay for only Midwest, and most 72 hours.) Curfew is were not white; they 9:30 every night, with were largely young the exception made minorities from the for those who have city’s five boroughs, night jobs. living through the Wake-up time is 6 chaos of crime and a.m.; breakfast is at 7. family dislocation Residents then go off created by the crack for schooling or jobs. epidemic of the era. The structure itself

The stories of kids is a vital life skill for being lured into the youngsters who often sex industries of the grow up with little city after arriving at Sister Mary Rose McGeady, known for her grit and concern for youth, helped revive Covenant guidance. the Port Authority Bus House when she became director in 1990. According to Terminal were toned Sister Nancy, the faith down, better reflecting the actual work of the agency. dimension of Covenant House remains. No one is prosely

The more accurate approach worked. Covenant House tized, and those who are served come from all faith backwas rebuilt on a more solid foundation. grounds, or none.

Sister Mary Rose, who radiated both toughness and a “We recognize God’s providence,” she says. The religious concern for youth honed by years in social services, speardimension is a quiet one, appreciated by many clients, headed the Covenant House comeback, leading the agency she adds. The chapel is often a haven for troubled youth. for 13 years. She died in 2012. Donations include rosaries, which are often clutched by

Fortunately, the crack epidemic abated. Now drug abuse young residents, even if they don’t understand or profess the is seen more as a widespread societal issue, not just an urban prayers associated with the beads. problem. But Covenant House in Manhattan continues While New York is its birthplace and hub, Covenant to focus on troubled young people from the city, many of House now extends across the globe. The agency tries to whom exist in the shadows, quietly remaining in all-night meet needs in other places as well. venues to deal with the reality of homelessness. About 85 Covenant House now has shelters in more than 30 locapercent of Covenant House clients are from the city, often tions, in large and small American cities from Anchorage, finding the facility through on-street referrals from other Alaska, to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Asbury Park, New young people in trouble. Or they are referred by police officJersey, as well as Houston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. ers and outreach workers who locate the young people on It has expanded internationally as well, with centers in the streets. Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Canada. The New

In a city that offers so much wealth, power, and opportuYork model has been replicated in cities and towns both nity, why do they remain homeless? large and small, wherever young people find themselves on

The reasons vary, Sister Nancy says. the streets instead of with concerned families.

Some come from homes plagued by alcohol and drug Wherever they are, and wherever they come from, the abuse. Others are from families, cramped into small apartyoung people who come to Covenant House are worth ments with stratospheric rents, who no longer have room the effort, emphasizes Sister Nancy, who tries to educate for them. Others come out as gay or transgender to their potential supporters and benefactors about the hard world families and are kicked out as a result. Whatever the reason, of young adult homelessness. through four floors of the Manhattan facility, 120 young Youth homelessness remains an issue with serious mispeople are sheltered each evening. Their time is limited to 60 conceptions abounding, she says. One of the most common days at the main shelter. A transitional housing facility run is that runaways can always go home. But, she says, they by the agency in the Bronx, New York, allows young people usually are not fleeing temporary family squabbles that can to stay for up to two years. be easily patched up. It’s about more than normal family

Sixty percent of funding comes from government agendysfunction. cies, the rest from private donations. “If they run away, they have run from abusive situations.

They can’t go back. They have been told House. She is now in New Orleans, they are trash,” Sister Nancy says. entering young adulthood, and working

From these challenging backwith the Covenant House facility there. grounds, she sees how the 60-day stays She is determined to help those, like her, at Covenant House can have a longwho are growing up without supportive term impact. families.

Just a week ago, a young man, a new “She didn’t believe she would be alive Covenant House resident, visited her at 21,” says Sister Nancy. Hannah is not office. He had told his adoptive parthe only one. Some former Covenant ents he was gay. He was kicked out and House residents have become doctors, began to feel that no one really cared lawyers, and musicians, and are truly about him. His talk with Sister Nancy gifted, waiting for an opportunity to offered a ray of hope. shine.

“I am feeling a little better today,” he Many others have been able to build told her at a Covenant House barbeque stable lives for themselves as they navithe next day. She sees the young man as gate through adulthood. slowly working past anger and explorA former attorney, Sister Nancy provides counWhatever the outcomes, Sister Nancy ing the deep hurt of his life. These are seling, life skills, and hope to homeless youth. says the Covenant House youth represent the minor triumphs that make the a simple truth: “These are young people work worthwhile. who have experienced homelessness. But homelessness is not

Sometimes the stories make rags-to-riches sagas. Hannah what they are.” had been living on her own since she was 13. She came to Covenant House at 18 and was the resident who preferred to Peter Feuerherd writes from Queens, New York, where he is a professor of sleep on the floor because she was not used to a bed. communications and journalism at St. John’s University and a news editor for

Hannah earned a 3.96 grade point average at Mount St. the National Catholic Reporter. For more information, visit Covenant House’s Vincent College, through a program sponsored by Covenant website, NY.CovenantHouse.org.

Secure Your Future with a Gift Annuity through the Society of the Little Flower.

CALL US TO REQUEST A FREE PROPOSAL 1-888-996-1212 littleflower.org/specialgifts

• A $10,000 charitable gift annuity provides an 80-year-old individual with annual payments of $930 • Little Flower gift annuities provide fixed payments for life • Payments are primarily tax-free through life expectancy

Your gift helps those in need through Carmelite ministries and the education of seminarians

Sample One Life Rates*

8.1% 9.3% 11%

13.8%

Age

75 80 85 90 *Rates are subject to change • Minimum age 60 • For U.S. residents only Please call our office to learn the rates for ages 60 - 74 and for two-life gift annuities.

Society of the Little Flower • 1313 N. Frontage Rd. • Darien, IL • 60561