The LA Fires Won't Stop Our Support for Youth
When you operate residential services 24/7 for youth experiencing homelessness, you don’t need to “show up” when a disaster strikes, you need to double down on unconditional love and relentless support.
Covenant House is no stranger to natural disasters and uninhabitable living conditions near our shelters. In the last three years, our teams have been put to the test with evacuations from storms, fires, and serious accidents near six of our locations. This week, we are tested again, as our team in Hollywood prepared an evacuation plan for the 104 youth in residence and worked to address staffing needs to provide ongoing support while in a danger zone.
Covenant House California CEO Fred Ali shared, “We have been working around the clock to keep our youth safe. Our staff on-site has really stepped up to cover shifts [of colleagues who had to evacuate from their homes], cook meals, and provide relief to the residents in our care, including the emergency beds we opened. Our youth are scared, and they are worried about being uprooted if the fires get more widespread.”
Like Fred, CEOs at Covenant House sites in Florida, New Orleans, New York, Texas, Guatemala, and Honduras never hesitated to prioritize the needs and safety of our young people when faced with dangers like the current wildfires in Southern California.
What we’ve learned from each emergency is that immediate needs and supplies are critical, and we are so grateful to all the people and partners who show up to provide them. We’re also cognizant of our youths’ longer-term needs and how the emergency will impact their overall health and well-being long after the disaster is over. So, we’re focused, too, on preparing for the aftereffects and the support our youth will need in the coming months.
Galvanized and Inspired
In Hollywood, our staff are not only galvanized, they’re inspired. They know that the fear of being displaced or becoming homeless again is all too real for youth at Covenant House, and they are committed to providing extra love and stability while keeping our operations going.
Keeping our doors open and food on our tables is always a priority, and, right now, at Covenant House California, our mental health services are just as essential while healthy routines and school and work schedules are disrupted by closures and evacuations.
In the midst of these extraordinary circumstances, though, many of our youth are just as galvanized and inspired as our staff. CHC employs some residents as interns with our street outreach program, handing out supplies to homeless communities in Los Angeles. Even as the fires continue to spread, those residents are still choosing to head out with our outreach teams, providing immediate relief to their neighbors. Their dedication to giving back, even while facing crises of their own, is a perfect display of Covenant House’s value of unconditional love.
Eliot Brody, a member of the development team, said CHC youth and staff were ready to step in and help “because every day our outreach team distributes these same essential items — hygiene products, bottled water, sandwiches and preprepared meals, blankets, towels, and linens — in our daily outreach to young people on the street. Our normal street outreach to youth is continuing right now, and it’s more important than ever.”
This is neither the first nor the last time Covenant House’s 24/7 operations will be tested. Each time, we will respond the best way we know how — by opening our doors and our arms, assuring our youth that we are here no matter what, and showing our community that our unconditional love is prioritized not compromised in times of uncertainty.
“Even with everything happening during these wildfires, Covenant House is still here, making sure unhoused youth aren’t forgotten,” said Director of Supportive Services Anthony Conley. “And, honestly, the most beautiful part is seeing our young people, our interns, stepping up to help other youth and giving back to the community that supports us. They’re showing so much heart, and it’s a reminder of just how resilient and incredible they are.”
If you’d like to make a donation now to help our team continue to provide 24/7 shelter, support, and safety to the residents who call Covenant House California home, we would be grateful.
Your gift will be put to work immediately to cover unforeseen expenses related to the fire and extra staffing costs incurred while our doors remain open. Donate here.
