Daniel: Counting on a Bright Future

Hi, I'm Daniel Oladipo (I'm the one sitting) and this is my supervisor Mr. Anthony Johnson. I am an intern the the Accounting Office of Covenant House Washington. I first heard about Covenant House from a friend. My siblings and I came here to be a part of the Summer Enrichment program conducted by the Prevention Services program. We did that for three summers. The summer program was good. I really liked the people and the counselors; the counselors really cared about us. During the summer program I learned how to care for myself, how to keep myself safe, and how to stay away from things that are bad. I really enjoyed working in the music studio and doing artwork.

I graduated from high school this past June. I got accepted into Virginia Union, but I wasn't able to get enough financial aid to cover the cost. So, this fall I will begin taking classes at Prince George's Community College and then transfer to Bowie State University. I will be majoring in Accounting. I like working with figures, examining how transactions are done, and working with taxes. In my high school I was in the Academy of Finance, so we learned a lot about financial services and international business. Covenant House is giving me a real-life experience through volunteering in the accounting office. I work four hours a day, and I am learning how to file receipts, manage paperwork, and learning how to work in an office environment. This experience will be helpful to me when I go to college.

I like the way the people at Covenant House interact with me and each other. For kids, it is a good place to come and learn about things you don't know. They can help you succeed.

Tiffany: Challenging Myself to Keep Moving Forward

My name is Tiffany Johnson, but my family and friends call me Tiff. This is my son, RJ. I am 22 and I'm at Covenant House because I was evicted from my home. My old job let me go due to the fact they didn't have maternity leave; they waited til my ninth month of pregnancy to tell me. Because of that I was unable to pay my rent, which caused me and my child to become homeless.

Being homeless made me very depressed. I even felt like I was less than a mother because I couldn't provide shelter for my son. Covenant House helped uplift my spirit and made me feel like I had a second chance. Being on the streets can either break you or make you humble yourself toward life. If you are young and on the streets, I would tell you to pray and don't give up hope because you can only go up when you are down. To the young adults not on the streets, make wise decisions in life so you can avoid being on the streets--it's not fun and life will be harder on you.

I highly recommend Covenant House to other young troubled youth because I really think this place can put you back on the right track to a better life. Here you learn discipline and you get to clear your mind so you can think about your goals and where you are going. My goal is to find a career job with health benefits that can provide me and RJ a consistent, secure lifestyle. To reach my goals, I am going to challenge myself to do things I never thought I could do. I'm going to push myself forward and never look back.

Terrance: My Life

Well, where can I start off? I grew up living a tough life. I was born in Norfolk, Virginia and moved to D.C. after my grandmother died. I was 3 years old. When we moved here things weren't sweet at all. My mother started using drugs (crack) and our life just came tumbling down. Moving from place to place, shelter to family's houses; things just weren't right. Then my mother found a place in northeast D.C., a place called Lincoln Heights. That's when she started using heavy. She started selling our things, such as TVs and things of that sort until she said enough is enough and admitted herself into rehab. That's when I moved in with my cousin in Baltimore.

Things there weren't stable. I was sent to an aunt's house where a stayed a year. I felt like a bastard child, something like a male Cinderella. After my moms got out rehab successfully, we moved to southeast D.C. My mother found it hard to take care of me, my sister and her two kids, so she started using again. My sister would leave her two children with my mother for days at a time. My mom was stuck with a terrible dilemma--to take care of us or work. So she decided to call foster care on my sister's kids and had them taken away. It was pretty hard on my mom and me trying to cope with it, but she had to do what she had to do. To this day my sister hasn't forgiven my mother.

With my moms using and not having a job, she and I were in the same boat again going from house to house. We found another apartment, but our relationship was wearing down. I finally said enough was enough and I ran away to live with my aunt in Maryland. She really didn't want me there, but I was family and she took me in. About that time I started using drugs (weed) to ease my mind. Soon, I was just cold abusing it, smoking all day every day. School wasn't working for me so I decided to go to Job Corp. It was an experience I will never forget. I was on my own at the tender age of 17, still smoking and even selling weed. I spent a year in Job Corps until I got kicked out because of the weed, but I was able to complete most of my GED work and I earned a certificate in culinary arts as a prep cook. I left Job Corp and went to live with my sister in D.C. That was one of the roughest times of my life.

My sister was getting benefits for me (money), but all I had was a cot on the floor and I had to leave on the weekends. I got fed up with that and moved in with my godfather. He was a terrible drunk. One day the police ran into our house because of all the activity going on--smoking, drinking, etc. They locked up everybody, including me. After all the stealing, smoking weed, and other things I had done, I came to the conclusion my life was messed up; so I devoted myself to God and things started looking better.

When I was released from jail I went to the shelter to start over. I went to the 801 M Street Shelter. I was truly blessed by the people of Covenant House when they came and said they had a place for me. They took me to the crisis center and I was like "thank you God for this salvation." Since then I have done more than ever before to work on getting my life back on track and my relationship with my family is growing.