Together We Can
End Youth Homelessness
DETROIT PROGRAMS
Every person deserves a safe place to sleep and hope for a brighter tomorrow. For young people, homelessness interrupts progress toward adulthood and a future of independence and self-sufficiency.
Covenant House Michigan’s doors are always open to all young people who need housing and help, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Our trauma-informed services help bridge the gap between potential and progress, and we also advocate for systemic change through public policy, while promoting awareness of critical issues related to youth homelessness.
Our mission is centered and built on community, where youth, staff, volunteers, and partners love one another unconditionally, respect each other absolutely, and dedicate ourselves to a covenant of compassion and hope.
OUTREACH
Covenant House Michigan’s street outreach team go out to the neighborhoods, parks, and other places where youth facing homelessness often seek refuge. They may offer food, water, essential supplies, counseling and invite them to come to Covenant House, where their immediate, basic needs can be met. Through relentless engagement, our outreach workers build trust with the young people, the first step toward encouraging them to come into Covenant House and connect to our services.
OUTREACH
Covenant House Michigan’s street outreach team go out to the neighborhoods, parks, and other places where youth facing homelessness often seek refuge. They may offer food, water, essential supplies, counseling and invite them to come to Covenant House, where their immediate, basic needs can be met. Through relentless engagement, our outreach workers build trust with the young people, the first step toward encouraging them to come into Covenant House and connect to our services.
CARITAS CRISIS CENTER
Our 45-bed emergency shelter is a warm and welcoming space for youth aged 18 to 24 who find themselves facing homelessness. We provide high-quality services and programs to meet their immediate needs, stabilize a young person’s situation, and help them begin to consider their longer-term goals. We are expertly equipped to respond to the unique needs of survivors of human trafficking and those who identify as LGBTQ. Youth can stay up to 90 days at Caritas and then move to a transitional living situation.
RIGHTS OF PASSAGE
Our two-year independent living program offers youth the chance to further their education, save money, learn how to manage their time and finances, as well as gain addition life skills. Every resident develops a life plan that outlines their goals and leads them toward successful independent living. They are assigned a counselor and mentor and receive individual and group counseling and medical care. Our staff members address the physical, emotional, social, mental and spiritual needs of all of the youth – and step in as role models, and many times playing the role of family.
RIGHTS OF PASSAGE
Covenant House’s transitional living programs, often referred to as “Rights of Passage” or ROP, offer youth opportunities to take their boldest steps toward independence. Youth live in ROP for up to 24 months, where they tap their potential and plan for the future. Here they build basic life skills and financial literacy, participate in educational and vocational programs, seek employment with long-term advancement and career prospects, and work toward moving into their own safe and stable housing. Our staff supports each young person on their journey toward sustainable independence and a hope-filled future.
EMPLOYMENT CENTER
Young people arrive at Covenant House with dreams that have been disrupted by homelessness. Preparing for the world of work are key to a young person’s prospects for leaving homelessness behind. We guide youth to appropriate educational and vocational opportunities, matching each young person’s strengths and abilities with their career interests. We help them hone the skills they need to join the workforce, become independent, and turn their back on homelessness.
TOTAL ME
Sometimes referred to as Total Me Zone (TMZ), the program recruits social work students seeking field placement assignments as part of their graduation requirements.
TMZ interns work in partnership with our Detroit staff to create and deliver workshops for the youth in our programs to develop skills they might have missed growing up. Through the Total Me Zone, the residents learn various life skills including communication, coping skills, anger management, inclusion, financial literacy, healthy eating and exercising, and budget shopping.
To learn more about the TMZ intern program, contact Tracy Hill at tlhill@covenanthouse.org or call us at 313-463-2000.
TOTAL ME
Sometimes referred to as Total Me Zone (TMZ), the program recruits social work students seeking field placement assignments as part of their graduation requirements.
TMZ interns work in partnership with our Detroit staff to create and deliver workshops for the youth in our programs to develop skills they might have missed growing up. Through the Total Me Zone, the residents learn various life skills including communication, coping skills, anger management, inclusion, financial literacy, healthy eating and exercising, and budget shopping.
To learn more about the TMZ intern program, contact Tracy Hill at tlhill@covenanthouse.org or call us at 313-463-2000.
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Homelessness impacts young people’s physical and mental well-being in many ways, and because youth are still developing cognitively, physically, psychologically, and emotionally, those impacts can have deep effects. We offer access to a range of health and well-being services residents can use to heal and rediscover their potential. Our trauma-informed, resilience-focused programs and services range from medical care at our on-site clinic to yoga classes, counseling, religious and spiritual services, and sports. In these activities, young people retake control over their lives, build on their strengths, and nourish their self-confidence.
OUR SUCCESS STORIES |
Covenant House Michigan empowers young people to overcome homelessness and trafficking, and find hope and progress by strengthening their resilience through relentless support, unconditional love, and absolute respect. While their stories may be different, we are absolutely committed to providing them a path toward independence and success.
OUR SUCCESS STORIES
Covenant House Michigan empowers young people to overcome homelessness and trafficking, and find hope and progress by strengthening their resilience through relentless support, unconditional love, and absolute respect. While their stories may be different, we are absolutely committed to providing them a path toward independence and success.