History of Covenant House NJ

1989

Concerned about youth on the streets of Newark and Atlantic City, Covenant House came to New Jersey. At that time, basic services were provided through street outreach conducted by staff who traveled in vans to areas populated by high-risk youth. Food, clothing, counseling and referrals for shelter were all handled from the vans. Although outreach is still an integral part of the way we work with kids today, many more programs have been added to help meet their needs.

1990

We opened small storefront programs in Newark and Atlantic City early this year. These programs allowed us to bring youth into a place where we could talk with them, assess their needs and formulate plans to help them make real changes in their lives.

1991

We added drug abuse and HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs to our array of offered services, as well as an adolescent parenting program.

1992

We enlarged our storefront programs by moving to new quarters in both cities. These Community Service Centers not only enabled us to meet the basic needs of food, clothing, shower and laundry facilities, but allowed us to provide a comprehensive array of services to help the young people realize their goals.

1993

We opened our first transitional living program in Atlantic City - Rights of Passage (ROP). ROP meets the needs of youth who have become stabilized enough to benefit from a program that provides education, job training and placement, leading to independent living. Although we were pleased to open ROP, we realized that the neediest kids would need more help before they could benefit from this program.

1994

Desperate to provide shelter for those young people living on the streets and under the boardwalk, we made a decision to work with a local rooming house. Later that year, we were fortunate to receive a grant that allowed us to begin planning an enhanced Crisis Shelter and Community Service Center in Atlantic City.

1995

We purchased facilities in Atlantic City that would allow us to begin developing the programs needed in this community. Simultaneously, we initiated a research study with Rutgers University in Newark to determine the number and locations of street youth in this city. The results of this study confirmed what we already knew: a large facility with comprehensive services was essential.

1996

Planning was initiated to build the Newark Crisis and Community Service Center and raise the funds required for this ambitious project. Realizing that the realization of these plans would take two to three years, an interim shelter program was opened with youth housed on a floor of a local hotel.

1997

Our new 27-bed Crisis Center and the adjoining Community Service Center were opened in Atlantic City. We then began to undertake our most challenging project ever to this point: establishing a Crisis Center and an expanded Community Service Center in Newark.

1998

In response to emerging public policy concerns regarding the treatment of homeless and runaway youth, we established our Youth Advocacy Center. We also began the development of our Newark Crisis and Community Service Center.

1999

Governor Whitman signed the New Jersey Homeless Youth Act into law our Atlantic City site. We also opened our Medical Services Office in Atlantic City with an on-site Nurse Practitioner.

2000

The Newark Crisis and Community Service Center was opened. With over 40,000 square feet and offices for the range of services required, we were now able to house 45 youth per night and serve many more at risk youth at the Community Service Center. Programs now included job preparation, legal assistance and pastoral ministry.

2001

Two significant programs were added to the range of services in Newark. First, we implemented an on-site Health Services Department staffed by a Pediatrician and Nurse Practitioner. We also opened a small Rights of Passage program for six young men. Later that year we collaborated with Catholic Community Services to provide not only physical care but mental health care, on a limited basis, as well.

2002

We shifted our focus from broad expansion to internal capacity-building and organizational effectiveness, curtailing our horizontal growth and redirecting our focus from creating more services to providing better services. Our primary effort to achieve this was a Process Improvement initiative. Our two sites collaborated to undertake a dramatic improvement of our core program processes, from Intake through Discharge.

2003

We began a partnership with Raphael’s Life House to provide residential and support services to young women with newborns and expectant mothers. Our Youth Advocacy Center also co-authored and facilitated the passage of the New Jersey Tuition Waiver Bill, which was signed into law by Governor McGreevey at our Newark site.

2004

Outreach in Atlantic City officially reopened. Through Process Improvement, Training, and Organization redesign, there is now an agency-wide focus on higher quality services.