Community Resources-3
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Community Resources
Melissa Hughes
Capella University
NHS 4060
Professor White
December 18, 2023
2
Community Resources
In the United States an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults become homeless, with seven hundred thousand of those individuals being minors without family or a guardian (NCSL.org, 2023). The Covenant House works tirelessly to house homeless youth and protect them from labor or sex traffickers that pray upon their weakness. The organization has an open-
door policy and works diligently with other community partners to help establish the youth with healthcare, education, and so much more. This paper will examine in depth exactly what covenant houses do for their local communities and how they impact their communities.
Covenant House
A non-profit organization that provides housing immediately to the youth at risk of becoming homeless, known as the covenant house. It has multiple locations all over the world and was established in 1972. The location Anchorage, Alaska has determined that the local community in this area has a high rate of homelessness. This organization has an open-door policy due to their mission being to help kids that are suffering and protect all youth in need (Kear et al., 2023). Covenant house abides by five principles, immediacy, sanctuary, communication, structure, and choice. The organizations vision is to inspire and encourage other communities to end youth homelessness, with the hopes of helping the youth pursue a life of opportunities (CovenantHouse.Org, n.d.) Children in this establishment believe that they have the right to a
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home, food, guidance, education, safety, and to be protected and safe from abuse or exploitation (
C
ovenant House International Annual Report 2022
, 2022).
Health Risk & Needs of the Homeless Youth Population
Covenant houses play a vital role in the communities they serve and contribute to public health and safety by reducing the number of children who are homeless with no support or guidance. Studies have been conducted and determined that these children are at the highest risk of being sex or labor trafficking due to their higher rate of primary risk factors: poverty, unemployment, history of sexual abuse, and mental health problems. These risk factors also put them at a higher risk of becoming dependent on illegal substances. The homeless youth do not have readily available access to the necessities of housing and food and sex or labor traffickers pray upon their weakness to bring them on board as a last resort of survival (
C
ovenant House International Annual Report 2022, 2022
).
Local Partners & Collaborations
Covenant house of Alaska work with other local organizations to combat against the youth homelessness in Archorage community. The local partnerships work cohesively to aid the youth to become stable and independent. Some of these local partnerships are the Anchorage school district, abused women aid in crisis (AWAIC), cook inlet housing authority, nine-star education and employment services. There are many more partnerships, but all collaborate to help youth obtain healthcare, education, place of employment, counseling for substance abuse, suicide prevention, and mental health services (
C
ovenant House International Annual Report 2022, 2022). Health Promotion Strategies
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An evidence-based strategy to reduce homelessness in youth is the housing first model that has been successful in improving housing stability and some aspects of health. It creates immediate housing with places that are not conditional on abstinence from substance abuse. This
is a common trend among the homeless population with housing. The housing first model focuses on reducing the level of harm and encourages health in the homeless youth population (MacKinnon & Socias, 2021). The homeless population in general has a lack of access to healthcare and often has a higher rate of morbidities and mortality rates (McNeill et al., 2022). An intervention that has been nurse drive to combat homelessness is nurse led free clinics, and mobile health clinics. These clinics promote healthcare needs for homeless patients reducing the level of homeless emergency room visits flooding the community emergency rooms (Paradis- Gagne et al., 2023).
Funding Sources
The majority of financial contributions for non-profit organizations like the covenant house come from individuals, foundations, and corporations. The largest contributor is government grants and contracts to improve quality of life for youth and keep them off the streets. The covenant is transparent with their funding and revenue and provides a spread sheet that breaks down exactly where their funds are going and how they spend it in an annual report. (
Co
venant House International Annual Report 2022, 2022)
. The organization urges congress to authorize once again the trafficking victim's protection act that was originally established in 2000
and provided tools and resources to destroy modern forms of slavery domestically and internationally. They are also pushing for the policy runaway and homeless youth and trafficking
prevention act (RHYTPA) to be passed so that the youth currently homeless right now can end it
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but also permanently find a solution (
Covenant House helps Young People Overcome Homelessness, n.d.
). Social Justice
The covenant house understands that some face discrimination for their race, gender identity, teen pregnancy, and teen parent. These individuals are at a much greater risk of being homeless than other groups in low socioeconomic communities or other disparities. They encourage acceptance, inclusivity, diversity, and they work closely with their partnerships to create equal opportunities for all their homeless youth (CovenantHouse.Org, n.d.). Conclusion
In conclusion, the covenant house is a vital asset to all communities it provides services to. Their open-door policy makes receiving shelter accessible and all the resources and partnerships they coordinate getting the youth back on their feet and being able to be independent. Funding is provided to the organization by donations and government grants, and they are transparent with how the funds are spent, building trust with the community. They also advocate and fight against the policies and legislation that will help or go against all the work they are doing to get young people off the streets and prevent them from being trafficked.
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Reference
Report youth homelessness overview
. National Conference of State Legislatures. (2023, March 29). https://www.ncsl.org/human-services/youth-homelessness-overview#:~:text=Each
%20year%2C%20an%20estimated%204.2,by%20a%20parent%20or%20guardian
.
Covenant House International Annual Report 2022
. (2022). https://www.covenanthouse.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/Covenant-House-Annual-
Report-2022.pdf
Covenant House helps Young People Overcome Homelessness
. Covenant House. (n.d.). https://www.covenanthouse.org/
MacKinnon, L., & Socias, M. E. (2021). Housing First: A housing model rooted in harm reduction with potential to transform health care access for highly marginalized Canadians. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien
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(7), 481–483. https://doi.org/10.46747/cfp.6707481
McNeill, S., O'Donovan, D., & Hart, N. (2022). Access to healthcare for people experiencing homelessness in the UK and Ireland: a scoping review. BMC health services research
, 22
(1), 910. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08265-y
Paradis-Gagné, E., Jacques, M. C., Pariseau-Legault, P., Ben Ahmed, H. E., & Stroe, I. R. (2023). The perspectives of homeless people using the services of a mobile health clinic
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in relation to their health needs: a qualitative study on community-based outreach nursing. Journal of research in nursing : JRN
, 28
(2), 154–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/17449871231159595
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