Through Street Outreach, our staff works directly with young people on the streets to determine what they need and then provide those services. Several days a week during the afternoon and evening hours, the outreach team travels throughout the areas where street youth are known to frequent. The Covenant House van with its reflective blue logo is easily visible.

The staff carries sandwiches and drinks with them in the van and attempt to make contact with teens on the street in a non-threatening manner. The primary objective is to build trusting relationships with the young people who choose to remain on the street, by offering food, clothing, information about Covenant House services, education about dangers of street life, including sexual exploitation and abuse, counseling and referrals.

As a component within the CHNJ continuum of services, the outreach team has guaranteed access to Covenant House's emergency Crisis Residential Program and Community Service Center for those youth seeking immediate shelter and safety. Once in the shelter, the youth will have continued contact with the outreach staff during daytime hours in order to maintain the relationships with the youth that were begun on the street.

Street Outreach teams also educate the local community about the programs that Covenant House offers to young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. By working closely with the schools and other community-based agencies, they raise public awareness of the services that are available to help those in need.