Friends of Lizzie's blog

I couldn't be any happier right now! Thanks to Covenant House, I have my very own apartment. Even though my life was very difficult in the past, I know that everything is going to work out. I've never really had my own place so this really means alot to me. I want to personally thank Ms. Blanca and Southwest Solutions for finding a place for me to move. I know this is only the beginning of good things to come!

Last week was such a great week for me. I got my GED! I plan on going to college in the fall to further my education. Even though I work at Happy's Pizza now, I plan on going much further in the future. My life right now is really great. Covenant House has really helped me. I want to thank them and my GED teachers for all of their love and support. This is the happiest I've been in a long time!

I really want to become a nurse to care for other people. Before I came to Covenant House I didn’t have time to pursue any schooling because I was a teenage mother raising two daughters. Now that I’m at Covenant House though, I have time to do that. My daughters are staying with their grandmothers while I’m here working for a better future for all of us. Now I’ve got my Clinical Nurse Specialist certification, and I’m taking classes to prepare for the GRE. Soon I want to enroll at Madonna University’s College of Nursing and Health to become a Registered Nurse.

I recently wrote about trying to get into the Rights of Passage Program at Covenant House. While I’m working on that, I’m also trying to become a part of the Internship Program here. Hopefully this will give me an opportunity to work on campus and get paid at the same time. Right now, the program is learning janitorial skills. This will be great for me to put on my resume! And it’s useful because someday I want to own a chain of restaurants, so I’ll be able to use the skills I learn here at Covenant House in my restaurants and training my employees.

I’ve been in the Crisis Center at Covenant House for about three months now, so I’m working to get into the ROP Program. In there, I will be able to live for two years, find myself a job, and save the money from my job to start life on my own when I’m ready to leave. I want to get into ROP because it seems calmer and I want to be here for a longer time than I can stay in the Crisis Center. I have a personal connection with the staff here at Covenant House, so I want the chance to continue my relationships with them and take advantage of the help they can give me here.

-T

There was a time I thought life would never look up. I had dropped out of school and felt like a complete failure. Everything was going wrong and I didn't know what to do. But with the help of loved ones I pulled it together and even enrolled back in high school at Life Skills Center Central. Not only have I graduated, but I was valedictorian of my class! Ive never felt so proud of myself! But now is not the time to stop. I plan on going to college to eventually become a teacher. I just want to thank Life Skills and Covenant House for all their love and support!

Eventually I want to become a chef. The good news is I’m getting help with that goal while I’m here at Covenant House. As part of my stay at Covenant House, I participate in the Total Me program during the day. This semester we’re working on cooking skills! We’re learning how to make home-made ice cream and pizza. At the end of the semester we’ll serve it to everyone at Covenant House, and we’re calling it the Cov Love Café. I’m really excited to continue cooking and share my love of the kitchen with everyone here at CHM.

Covenant House is continuing to help me get back on the right track in life. It’s been about three months now since I’ve been here, and I’ve been using my time here to focus on achieving my goals for myself. I want to attend college for business or engineering (I can’t decide which one yet). The staff at CHM has been helping me put the paperwork together so that I can start my classes soon. I’m excited to be a student again, and I know that while I’m at Covenant House I won’t have to worry about things like being safe, so I can really focus on my school work.

I try to use Covenant House as a building block. I’ve been through a lot in my life and I look at my time here as another step in the right direction. I don’t waste time here because time is valuable, and I’m looking forward to attending college soon to study business or engineering. Covenant House is a good place to help me get back on my feet and move forward to where I want to be in life. Although my life has not always been easy, I appreciate all the help, love and support I’m receiving here. So I’ll continue to smile and live life with a positive outlook.

-N

I have been at Covenant House for three weeks now, and I think it’s a blessing that I’m here. My goal for while I’m here is to learn how to accomplish college-level school work and be independent. I really appreciate the staff here because they are helping me achieve that without even being asked. Like when I made a copy of my resume and Ms. D found it in the copy machine, she looked for me and asked if I’d be interested in some tips to improve my resume. I said of course! Her help was a blessing also. Ms. B has been helping me with tips to find a job too.