Covenant House Opens Youth Shelter in East Garfield Park

Suzanne Hanney, from online sources

Covenant House Illinois (CHIL) transitioned to the public phase of its Campaign for Youth Potential with a ribbon cutting on its new youth shelter in East Garfield Park.

More than 100 people attended the May 6 event, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (both D-IL), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Chicago First Lady Amy Eshleman, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th ward) and Covenant House International CEO Kevin Ryan.

CHIL moved into its new, 3-story, 24,000-square-foot campus at 2934 W. Lake St. last October and continued to develop the space. It is now raising the last $3 million of an $11.5 million campaign. The 40-bed shelter has 17 young adults staying there.

The need is overwhelming, said CHIL Executive Director Susan Reyna-Guerrero, LCSW. On any given night, there are 3,000 18- to 24-year-olds experiencing homelessness in Chicago.

Just off the CTA Green Line, the campus serves young men and women ages 18 to 24 who face homelessness and other dangers such as human-trafficking, domestic violence, and LGTBQ+ discrimination. The organization provides shelter, meals, and other support services with the goal of building client's self-sufficiency.

Each shelter resident meets with a master’s-degree-level social worker to determine a plan, Reyna-Guerrero told NBC5 News. More than 1 in 3 (35%) were formerly in the foster care system; 41 percent left abusive homes.

Current resident Shauwnique, 23, a model, student and singer/songwriter, performed two songs she composed for the group – and brought the entire audience to its feet.

Covenant House Illinois first opened its doors in February 2017. It has provided more than 15,000 nights of shelter and served 1,200 youth since then.

Alderman Burnett told the crowd, which included donors and staffers, how he had been intermittently homeless in his youth and how many residents and former elected officials fought him about bringing the shelter to East Garfield Park, just off the CTA Green Line. "I had residents who did not want this here —literally did not want this here—humiliated me, talked about me...all kinds of things."