Tina Kelley is an award winning poet and journalist. Her book of poetry “The Gospel of Galore” won a Washington State Book Award in 2003. She was a staff writer for The New York Times for 10 years and was assigned to the Newark Bureau. In 2002 she was part of the team that won The Times a Pulitzer Prize for Portraits of Grief, public service journalism. Portraits of Grief provided glimpses of victims of the Sept. 11th attack on the Word Trade Center.
Tina Kelley is currently writing a book about the experiences of young people living on the street, and about Covenant House’s work helping them get their lives back together.
Resident Planning Geek: You work for Covenant House. Could you tell me about the work of your organization?
Tina Kelley: Covenant House is the largest privately-funded charity in the Americas working with homeless and at-risk young people. Many people know our shelter on West 41st St. in New York City, but we have shelters in 15 US cities, including Newark. The young people we work with are mostly 17 to 21. Many of them have been kicked out of their homes and never reported missing.
Resident Planning Geek: How does Covenant House assist homeless and at risk young people?
Tina Kelley: We work with whatever needs they bring to us. We send outreach vans to neighborhoods where at-risk kids gather, and pass out sandwiches and our cards, letting them know they are welcome at our shelters. For the kids staying with us, we provide hot meals, hot showers, new clean clothes, a safe place to stay, and counselors who help them make a plan and follow it – to find a job, get a diploma, obtain health care, counseling, substance abuse services, and/or identification. We try to help them get back home if that is safe for them, or help them find an apartment of their own. We also help young people who aren’t staying at the shelter, who come in during the day for services.
Resident Planning Geek: What is the most sought after service provided?
Tina Kelley: Crisis care is number one — food, shelter, then medical care. Once kids are stable, the two biggest needs are for jobs and housing. A number of kids also need mental health care.
Resident Planning Geek: Is there a way to help this effort?
Tina Kelley: We need financial support to provide these services. You can donate online. For example, $10 provides food for one young person for a day, $500 can provide prenatal care to a pregnant, homeless girl. We also need mentors for our kids – someone they can talk to on a regular basis, or have lunch with. Mentors can prove to young people that someone cares and will hold them to a higher standard, to attain their dreams. We have lots of ideas for volunteers.
Resident Planning Geek: How can a friend or family member help a young person who is homeless?
Tina Kelley: Try to help them find a safe, affordable place to stay. If that is not possible, you can refer them to our Nineline, 1-800-999-9999, for advice. It is open from 2 pm to midnight eastern time, every day. But do everything possible to keep them off the streets — A child who spends more than 24 hours living on the streets has an 80% greater chance of being forced into prostitution.
Resident Planning Geek: What should a friend or family member not do?
Tina Kelley: Don’t tell them they are worthless. Don’t suggest they travel to a place where they have no support system. Don’t let them think their situation is hopeless.
Resident Planning Geek: How do you hope to impact the lives of the young people you interact with?
Tina Kelley: For the young people I’m interviewing for the book, I want them to see how important their life experiences are, and how people want to read about them and know about them. I want them to see how people they’ve never met will respect their courage and resilience and their ability to survive.
One girl I interviewed, a girl who got kicked out of her house because she is gay, said she didn’t think she was beautiful, but she is wrong. Maybe when other people read about how brave she is, everyone will understand how strong and kind and lovely she truly is.
Resident Planning Geek: Could you share an experience you have had at Covenant House that made you look at the experiences of young people?
Tina Kelley: Once I was sitting in at the morning chapel meeting in the Newark shelter and heard a slouching young man sounding incredibly depressed, saying how he didn’t know the purpose of his life. When I talked to him later, he showed me the drawings he had made, and some of the poetry he had written. He had been attending college, and wanted to go to the Peace Corps. He also said he had lived in more than 30 foster homes. I was amazed that he had survived so much and had not been entirely beaten down by it. He has so much to offer the world, as well, if only the world would start treating him with kindness. I was proud to be working for an agency that was trying to help him.
Resident Planning Geek: What encouragement would you give a young person who needs the help of Covenant House?
Tina Kelley: The kids I’ve interviewed who are back on their feet are the biggest encouragement I can offer. One young man who was sadistically abused as a toddler and spent his childhood in and out of dangerous foster care placements is now pursuing a master’s degree, to become a school principal. Another testified on Capitol Hill about human trafficking. Covenant House gave them a safe place to pull their lives together, with loving counselors who cared about them. There are people out there who want to help you!
Resident Planning Geek: What is the fastest way to get in contact with staff at Covenant House if you’re in need of help today?
Tina Kelley: You can call the Nineline (1 800 999 9999) or you could ask questions on the online forum for Nineline. The Newark shelter can be reached at (973) 621-8705 and the New York shelter, near Times Square, can be reached at (212) 613-0300. l To support Covenant House services also visit their donation gift catalog.
© 2012 Resident Planning Geek
