Cov Votes!

Choice is one of the five principles that guide Covenant House’s mission with young people facing homelessness, and this fall, all across the United States, we brought resources and support to the youth in our care, so they could make their own best choices at the ballot box during national, state, and local elections on Nov. 5. 

Tatiana (not her real name), a resident of Covenant House New Jersey, decided it was time she participated in the electoral process. “I never registered to vote before, and I’m 20 years old,” she says. “But I did register this year because I feel like our lives are on the line.”

Lennon Moore, a lawyer and director of specialized services at CHNJ, says, “We talk frequently to our youth about making sure their voice is heard when people are making decisions that will affect them. Being homeless gives them a unique perspective about what works and what doesn’t in society, and who society views as important when it comes to allocating resources.”

At Covenant House Texas, Alan Prince, director of transitional living programs, suggests, “Introducing youth to civic activity builds a foundation for lifelong participation and empowers them to drive societal progress. It’s crucial for young people to have a voice in policy and lawmaking, providing them an outlet to express themselves and influence the world they will lead.”

Preparing Youth for their Civic Duty

Covenant House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and as such, remains impartial in all national, state, and local elections. But for the reasons Lennon and Alan mention above, and because homelessness does not exclude our youth or any homeless person from the ballot box, we worked with our young people to ensure they felt prepared to choose on Election Day.

Our houses organized civics classes, voter registration drives, meetings for youth with local candidates, presidential debate watch parties, and meetings in which elected officials conveyed to youth the importance of voting.

Covenant House Florida, with sites in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, held a voter initiative on Oct. 7, the last day youth could register to vote. Participants could check their voting status, register, and learn about their polling places, says Kadi Tarlecky, chief development officer. She says staff fielded questions about early voting versus voting on Election Day, and about the significance of voting. 

“We emphasized that one vote can make a difference, just as their voices at CHFL can make a difference,” Kadi says.

Covenant House Texas held an event they called “Rock the Vote,” where local county representatives came and provided valuable insights on voter registration and requirements. 

“We also set up a live demo booth to walk youth through the voting process, step by step,” Alan Prince says. “To top it off, we hosted a nonpartisan discussion, where youth could openly share their thoughts and feelings about voting.”

Chamira Sankey, supportive services manager at Covenant House Illinois, where resident and drop-in youth participated in a debate watch party and voter registration efforts, affirms, “Our youths’ voices matter and hold weight.”

Committed to Youth Civic Participation

Youth engagement officers from our sites across the country regularly met online to share ideas about how best to support our young people and encourage their civic engagement. 

Although youth don’t forfeit their right to vote when they’re going through a period of homelessness, “only about 10% of all people facing homelessness exercise that right,” says Paulina Fangel, Covenant House International vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, who helped coordinate the meetings. 

“We felt it was really important to think about the most marginalized young people within our already-marginalized community of youth experiencing homelessness,” she added, referring particularly to young people who identify as LGBTQ+, Black, or Latine.

Nonprofit Vote, an organization that provides nonprofits with resources to help them engage the communities they serve in the electoral process, worked with Covenant House to create a voter engagement guide. Paulina says the guide is “evergreen” and will continue to be a resource for our houses when they engage youth in the process of future elections.

Making an Impact

At Covenant House Alaska, Success Manager Chris Schnell organized a presidential debate watch party, complete with “debate Bingo” and pizza incentives; a voter registration drive that registered over 20 youth to vote; and a rotating roundtable discussion with three Alaska representatives. Chris says the roundtable discussions were a big hit, with youth reporting feeling heard and legislators expressing how impressed they were with the conversations.

“The initiative demonstrated that with proper support and structure, youth experiencing homelessness are eager to engage in civic processes and make their voices heard,” Chris says. And it helped youth feel empowered, he adds, opening up “a whole new realm of possibilities in their heads regarding jobs, internships, and other opportunities. The activities helped youth understand that legislators work for them and that their voices matter in political discourse.”

Lennon Moore of Covenant House New Jersey notes, “The habit our youth are developing, in terms of speaking up and being heard, is something they will need to be good at as they navigate the social services system and many other aspects of their lives as they try to get ahead.”

He underscores that CHNJ reminds youth that “even though they are young and homeless, it doesn’t mean they get to sit out the election and that they must be active members of their community to help bring about the change they want to see in the world.”