covenant house, germantown, pa
A local social service agency in my community whose primary constituents are children and is related to my project plan is Covenant House Pennsylvania. It is located in Germantown, in the Northwest section of Philadelphia.
Covenant House serves runaway, homeless, and trafficked youth, including mothers with children, who are 21 years old and under. Children and youth are found through an extensive outreach program that reaches to all Philadelphia zip codes. Their facilities include a 51-bed residential center with a full continuum of supportive services including health, behavioral health, education, and vocation. Additionally, they have a Right of Passage transitional living program that provides 20 beds for participants. The mission of Covenant House (Our Mission, n.d.):
We who recognize God’s providence and fidelity to His people are dedicated to living out His covenant among ourselves and those children we serve, with absolute respect and unconditional love. That commitment calls us to serve suffering children of the street, and to protect and safeguard all children. Just as Christ in His humanity is the visible sign of God’s presence among His people, so our efforts together in the covenant community are a visible sign that effects the presence of God, working through the Holy Spirit among ourselves and our kids.
Their services and mission are guided by five principles: immediacy (providing immediate, quality service to youth without question or condition); sanctuary (providing the safe place children deserve); structure (focused programming helps children achieve goals); value communication (fostering relationships with children that are based on trust, love, respect and life-enhancing values); and choice (empowering youth to make positive life decisions about their future).
Creating a sense of family, that is, providing unconditional love and respect, is an essential part of living out their mission.
Their practice is trauma-informed and employs a positive youth development model focused on building the ‘7 Cs’ which provide a foundation for resilience. The 7 Cs — competence; confidence; connection; character; contribution; coping; and control — help Covenant House’s youth to not only overcome their challenges, and transform despair, fear, and victimization to hope, opportunity, and inspiration.
The 7 Cs -The Essential Building Blocks of Resilience (Fostering Resilience, n.d.):
- Competence: When we notice what young people are doing right and give them opportunities to develop important skills, they feel competent. We undermine competence when we don't allow young people to recover themselves after a fall.
- Confidence: Young people need confidence to be able to navigate the world, think outside the box, and recover from challenges.
- Connection: Connections with other people, schools, and communities offer young people the security that allows them to stand on their own and develop creative solutions.
- Character: Young people need a clear sense of right and wrong and a commitment to integrity.
- Contribution: Young people who contribute to the well-being of others will receive gratitude rather than condemnation. They will learn that contributing feels good and may therefore more easily turn to others, and do so without shame.
- Coping: Young people who possess a variety of healthy coping strategies will be less likely to turn to dangerous quick fixes when stressed.
- Control: Young people who understand privileges and respect are earned through demonstrated responsibility will learn to make wise choices and feel a sense of control.
The 7 Cs are an adaptation from The Positive Youth Development movement (Fostering Resilience, n.d.). The International Youth Foundation first described the 4 Cs of confidence, competence, connection, and character as the key ingredients needed to ensure a healthy developmental path. They later added contribution because youth with these essential 4 characteristics also contributed to society. The additional two C’s – coping and control – allow Covenant House’s model to promote healthy development and prevent risk. Covenant House staff members set high expectations for their youth and often have their expectations met because they genuinely model the attitudes, behaviors, and resilience strategies that they teach.
project plan: the vision
Vision Statement: We envision a Philadelphia wherein city children are resilient and have access to the basic necessities they deserve including safe and clean food, water, and living conditions.
Mission Statement: Our mission is to support homeless children by providing basic living necessities and social supports while teaching them the valuable tool of personal resilience to overcome challenges in overcoming homelessness.
Objectives:
1. To increase the resiliency or protective factors of homeless children living in shelters.
2. To provide basic and immediate living necessities such as adequate food, water, shelter, and medical attention to children who lack these essentials.
Mission Statement: Our mission is to support homeless children by providing basic living necessities and social supports while teaching them the valuable tool of personal resilience to overcome challenges in overcoming homelessness.
Objectives:
1. To increase the resiliency or protective factors of homeless children living in shelters.
2. To provide basic and immediate living necessities such as adequate food, water, shelter, and medical attention to children who lack these essentials.
References
Fostering Resilience. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://fosteringresilience.com/professionals/7cs_professionals.php
Our Mission. (n.d.). Covenant House Pennsylvania. Retrieved from http://covenanthousepa.org/about-us/our-mission/
Our Mission. (n.d.). Covenant House Pennsylvania. Retrieved from http://covenanthousepa.org/about-us/our-mission/