Hi everyone, my name is Ashley. I’m 18 years old, and I live at Covenant House. I would like to share my journey with you all.
I was born in Trenton, New Jersey. My relationship with my parents was difficult. My mother and father fought a lot, and when I was 12 years old, my father went to jail.
After he was released, my mother feared for the family’s safety, so she moved my sister and me out of our home. We had no place to go. We were homeless.
We lived in my mom’s car for a while. It was horrible. We would go to a parking lot and sleep there for the night. When people would pull up next to us, they would point and stare. I hated it.
My mom and I began to fight a lot. It was really hard for me to keep my grades up in school when I didn’t know where we were going to sleep that night or when my next meal would be. My mom never had money to buy me school supplies, but I still managed to graduate from high school.
The physical and verbal abuse from my mother escalated, and eventually she kicked me out. I moved to New York to stay with a family member, but it didn’t work out. I was on the street.
I went to a women’s shelter in the Bronx, which was scary. The women were much older than me and had been through a lot. It was cold and dirty. A woman told me that there was a better place for me, and that I should try Covenant House.
When I arrived at Covenant House, they took me in right away. It was a lot different than the adult shelter. The people staying there were my age, and I could connect with them. I completed the Workforce Development program, got a job, and was accepted into the Independent Living Program.
The staff on my floor are always making sure I’m staying on track with what I need to do. My goal is to go to college and become a nurse. That way, I would be able to help people every day.
Covenant House is part of my master plan, and I’m going to take advantage of every opportunity I can. I know it’s going to be tough, but I will do it. Covenant House has helped me grow as a person and opened the door to so many opportunities for me.
Thank you so much for reading and God Bless.
Note: This is Ashley’s speech from a recent candlelight vigil at Covenant House. She is doing really well and just ran in a half marathon with Covenant House staff! Thanks to several generous donors, we were able to take her shopping for a new pair of running shoes and cold weather gear for the race. She had a great time and especially loved running through Times Square with her teammates!
