When youth experience homelessness, they have their own set of problems. It’s finding a place to stay, a place to wash clothes, a place to eat, all while attending school. It’s also about avoiding—or even escaping—sexual exploitation and human trafficking, and dealing with the foster care and juvenile justice system.
Covenant House California’s (CHC) new Hayward campus seeks to address these problems. The location has a total of 30 shelter beds that are divided into a total of nine modular housing units. The housing units include a living room area, three bedrooms and a kitchenette. The beds are a mix of transitional housing and emergency shelters.
CHC mainly serves youth ages 18-24 who are experiencing homelessness. “They don’t have to sign up or anything,” said CHC chief program officer Ami Rowland. “It’s a drop-in center for resources and shelter. We don’t require anything. Come as you are. We meet young people where they’re at, but we don’t leave them there.”
CHC said in a press release they follow a model of progressive housing and wraparound care that supports youth at every stage of their journey.
Shelters are just a stepping stone towards exiting homelessness. Rowland said it’s important for a young person to have a place to stay once they’re ready to get out of the situation they’re in, whether it’s off the streets, couch surfing, or living in a car.
“We just have to be able to meet them and open the doors and have a bed available,” she said.
The ribbon cutting for Covenant House Hayward took place on April 18. Rowland said 10 young people moved in the week before the grand opening. The transitional housing program allows people to live there for up to two years.
CHC Hayward is a place where young people can finish their high school diploma, continue their education and get help with employment. There’s a clinician and case manager at the site that conducts harm reduction interventions for young people experiencing substance abuse. The shelter comes with a community house trailer with tables, and a full kitchen for gatherings and workshops.
Another spot at the site is called the Mid-County Access Point. Rowland said this is a place where youth can stop by to get food, take a shower, wash their clothes, and if they’re ready, get assessed with the county’s housing program that will match young people to housing.
She also said the Hayward community has been advocating for a CHC location in their city for about seven years. The city’s faith community, Alameda County Office of Education, and Alameda County Supervisor Elisa Marquez collaborated with resources to help homeless youth.
Rowland said the shelter is more than having a place for youth to relax and get simple necessities. It’s about stopping the pipeline into chronic adult homelessness. She said they want young people’s experience of being homeless to be rare, brief and nonrecurring.
“At Covenant House, California, we believe that no young person deserves to be homeless,” said Rowland, “and that every young person could have access to shelter and food, an opportunity to pursue educational goals, employment opportunities, mental health and most importantly, to be loved.”
She continued, “I think that’s the thing that makes us really special, is that we really show up for young people, and love them, and support them if they move to thrive and whatever goals that they have for them.”
