There's no place like home.

Some of our kids go away to college. When the holiday breaks come around they return to Covenant House –the only place they consider home. They are so grateful to have their Covenant House family.

Meet Patricia.
Patricia is 20 and attends Michigan State University. She used to live at Covenant House.

We asked her her story, here's what she said.

Why did you come to Covenant House?
My aunt kicked me out of her house because we were no longer getting along. My aunt was mentally and emotionally abusive, throughout the 4 years I was living with her. We had gotten into arguments many times before, but one night it escalated further than it ever had, which lead to her kicking me out.

If you could pick one thing that Covenant House has helped you with, what would it be?
The staff at the Covenant House helped me out a lot during my senior year of high school. My school was on the other side of the city but I didn't want to quit going so I had to take a bus or ask for transportation. The staff encouraged me to keep going and never give up. They helped me pay for some of the things I needed for my senior year and when I was getting ready to head off to college they pulled together to buy me things for my dorm room. And also some of the staff came to my school for certain events to act as the parent, which made me really feel special!

What are you grateful for?
I’m grateful for having had the opportunity to graduate from high school, and attend college. I’m grateful for having strength, the strength to go on and not give up when times get tough.

What's your best memory at Covenant House?
The best memory I have at the Covenant House would have to be the talent show, that was hosted when I was there, we all had so much fun, and it was good to see some of the residents smile who haven’t done so in a while.

And finally, what do you want to accomplish in the new year?
I’m not really sure what exactly I’d like to accomplish at this moment, but whatever it may be, it will be big!

Yes! I want to give today to make sure kids like Patricia always feels like they have a home away from home.

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