Bill’s Blog: Trafficked, Exploited Girls Get a New Home in Honduras

Bill’s Blog: Stories of Shelter, Stability, and Survival.

Blog Seven: Trafficked, Exploited Girls Get a New Home in Honduras

When I sat down with my wife and boys last week around the Thanksgiving table, my heart was full. I’m enormously grateful for my family, our home, and the life we build together every day. My work asks a lot of them, especially given the amount of time I’m on the road, working to make home and family a reality for thousands of young people experiencing homelessness and trafficking. How lucky am I to have a family who share and support that goal — and me!

I’m grateful, too, that that ambition to end youth homelessness as we know it stretches so far beyond my own dinner table. Last month, I got to witness the invigorating commitment of over 4,000 people who joined our Sleep Out movement across our federation, and the many others who rallied in the heart of New York City for solutions to the youth homelessness crisis, at the start of Youth Homelessness Awareness Month. 

A New Home for Trafficked Youth

And, far away from the bright lights of Times Square, I was privileged last month, also, to witness what unconditional love and relentless support can accomplish, when I attended the grand opening of a brand-new location for Covenant House Honduras’ Hogar Querubines. Hogar Querubines, literally, means House of Angels, and it is a safehouse for our youngest survivors of human trafficking, abuse, and exploitation.

The girls at Hogar Querubines are scarcely older than my sons, who are 9 and 11. Our Querubines residents are 12 to 18 years old, and, actually, some are even younger when they first arrive. Their youth was on full display as they ran through the new house, up and down the stairs, and out onto the patio, excited to explore their beautiful new space. They were delighted that all this was theirs, and that people they didn’t even know had made it possible!

I’m especially indebted to Maestro Cares Foundation, which provided critical funding that allowed us to purchase and renovate Hogar Querubines. Maestro Cares, established by Henry Cárdenas and renowned musician Marc Anthony, is devoted to helping provide safe and loving environments for children in need in Latin America and the United States.

Children like those I met at Hogar Querubines, who have been horribly abused, whether along the migrant trail or in their hometowns and villages in Honduras. Our Covenant House Honduras staff wrap them in love and support, so they can begin to envision a different life for themselves.  

One young girl I met last month had been sexually abused and exploited by violent gang members. She is now 16 and safe at Covenant House Honduras, where she’s discovered a passion for cooking. She’s taking culinary classes and dreaming of becoming a chef.  

Safety + Healing

The New Hogar Querubines is located in a secure neighborhood, but it promises not only the very necessary physical protection our girls need from traffickers and abusers but, also, an equally necessary ambience of healing and well-being. The whole house is filled with light, and the private yard allows the girls to run and play freely or simply be outdoors, safe and at peace. I can’t help but smile as I reflect on the serenity of this place. Everyone deserves the opportunity to exhale, especially these girls. 

Covenant House Honduras CEO Cándida Sauceda said the house will “focus on helping our young people overcome their traumas, re-enroll in the formal education system, and offer them opportunities for professional and vocational development, so they can rejoin society without fear or stigma.”

Every corner of the house, Cándida said, “has been designed to offer a safe and welcoming environment, where each girl can feel valued, respected, and loved. Here, they will have psychosocial and formative care, balanced meals, dignified rooms and bathrooms, and, above all, the respect and dignity so long denied them.”

Hogar Querubines has been a Covenant House Honduras program for 20 years and has provided a safe place for over 1,000 girls. Our new, fully renovated space is bigger and more inviting than ever. Here, we will accommodate up to 30 girls, a significant increase from the 20 residents our former location allowed. 

While the need for greater space reflects the sad reality of child exploitation and violence in the country, I’m so proud of our staff for taking on the responsibility of caring for more children who need our services, including legal services. Our legal team will continue to support our girls in pursuing criminal cases against their abusers and traffickers in a system fraught with obstacles and delays and that often leaves them feeling revictimized. 

Hope + Shared Commitment

Before the many esteemed local and international guests who attended the inauguration of Hogar Querubines, Cándida affirmed that this new home is so much more than simply a building. 

“It’s a symbol of hope and a shared commitment to continue creating spaces of care and development for our girls and adolescents,” she said. “We know we face important challenges, but Covenant House Honduras will continue to raise our voice in support of children and youth, working for their well-being … and ensuring that their rights are protected and respected.”

And I give thanks for that.

You want to know what else, the group in attendance at the inauguration went on to participate in the first-ever Sleep Out in Honduras the following night, and my colleague Carolyn Barker-Villena, senior vice president of programs in Latin America, wrote this reflection about the experience.

Bill Bedrossian is president and CEO of Covenant House International. Prior to this role, Bill served as the CEO of Covenant House California since 2014, leading the site to quadruple in size in eight years. Bill’s passion for working with youth came from his parents, who have been foster parents for over 30 years and have adopted eight of his 11 siblings through the child welfare system.