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Dear Friends,
 I wanted to take a moment to talk about two of our programs – Outreach and Drop-In Center. Last year we were able to obtain a Federal grant which enabled us to resume the Outreach program to those youth still living on the streets. This program is close to my heart and a very important of our mission to help these street kids. The Outreach staff goes out six days a week on foot patrol or in the van to different neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs that are known to have youth living on the streets. They also visit specific hangout sites such as the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The staff speaks to them about all the services Covenant House has to offer especially letting them know about the Crisis Shelter where they can come to get off the street. However, they have to first build trust among these youth so they help with whatever needs these kids have like food or clothing. They visit the same areas time and time again so the youth begin to know them. It’s unusual that a kid they meet the first time will actually get in our van and come into our Crisis Shelter so staff hand out Outreach cards with the Covenant House address and phone numbers. At any time of day or night, if they call us, we will respond with help! Also last year, we were able to start our Drop-In. The drop-in center serves as a resource center during the day where at-risk or homeless youth, who are not yet ready to come into our Crisis Shelter, can have access to all our other services such as case management, medical, mental health, legal, skills training and employment assistance. Youth can also access the Drop-In Center after having left Covenant House. Sometimes a youth returns home from the Crisis Center but still needs help or someone to talk to. The Outreach, Drop-In Center and Crisis Shelter staff works very hard to offer the best assistance we can to help each and every kid that comes through our doors. Our job is to help these kids get the services they need so they can see a brighter future. We thank you for helping us serve the many street and homeless kids in New York City who have no support!
Sincerely,
Jerome Kilbane
Executive Director
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