Bashful, 20 year old Willie can now say he has a place to call his own! Getting to where he is today has not been easy for Willie, but with the help of Southwest Solutions and the love of Covenant House, Willie now has a new sense of pride, responsibility and independence.

Instability has always been a part of Nikia’s life; she grew up in Michigan’s Foster Care system having moved through 11 homes by the time she turned 18. When she aged out of the system, she moved in with her grandmother, but, as Nikia put it, their personalities “clashed,” so she didn’t feel it was the ideal situation. She moved out on her own and at 19 had her first daughter. Raising her daughter “was hard,” and only got harder when her relationship with her daughter’s father became abusive.

Covenant House is a place where broken dreams meet bright possibilities. There has been such a diverse group of individuals to walk the halls at CHM, inspiring and mentoring the youth here. CHM has been blessed to have remarkable people such as Juilliard students, Broadway stars, a Superbowl Champion and many more. With as many gifted people that visit CHM, the true heroes are those that work day in and day out to see that the youth here are taken care of. The people that know the youth on a first name basis and treat them like family.

Many of the residents at Covenant House usually aren’t able to experience life outside the city of Detroit. Worries about safety and shelter in their lives have often come before thoughts of entertainment or fun. So when the Covenant House residents have an opportunity to go on a field trip they absolutely love it.