VANCOUVER, BC – “I’ve seen people come to us and have a complete turnaround in their life.”
Those were the words of Lindie Last, a youth worker at Covenant House Vancouver who was recently featured in Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s #BuckUp for Mental Health campaign video.
As you may have heard by now, the funds raised through the campaign will be donated to Covenant House Vancouver – a community partner of Whitecaps FC. But what exactly is Covenant House? And how will people’s donations be used by the organization?
Last answers those questions and more in this Q&A with whitecapsfc.com.
What is Covenant House?
Covenant House is an organization in Vancouver that offers support to homeless or at-risk youth through a number of different avenues. Youth are helped through drop in or outreach, we also have residential services where they can live and stay with us. We offer them food, a place to stay, clothes, and a chance to build a relationship with youth workers where they can explore their goals and help them to move forward.
What’s your role within the organization?
I’m a youth worker. I work in the female crisis program, so I get to meet with young people every day, find out their stories, what they need help with, and how I can help them with that.
What are some of the issues these youth are facing?
A lot of the youth that come to us come from poverty, so there’s a lot associated with that. Some of our youth also struggle with their mental health that they might want to work on when they’re staying with us or accessing our services. Some of our youth may have experienced some sort of trauma in their childhood, whether that be with their parents, family, or friends. So sometimes people come to us having experienced some sort of abuse in some way, whether that’s emotional, physical, or sexual, as well as addiction. People just come to us needing a little bit of help.
Have you seen Covenant House change people’s lives?
Yes. I’ve definitely seen it. There are the little things in terms of people not feeling comfortable to interact socially and being able to ask for help. That’s a big one. People coming to us who maybe didn’t finish high school and need a little bit of help to upgrade their school or find a job. Some people might be afraid to see a doctor, and we can help them with that. I’ve seen people come to us and have a complete turnaround in their life, in terms of never living independently and then moving into their apartment for the first time and being in full-time school. It’s really cool to see.
What’s your message to people reading this?
You should care about Covenant House Vancouver because the young people who access our service just need support, you know? Covenant House is an organization that gives people an actual chance. It gives the young people who access our service a chance to be seen and to be heard in a system where they don’t always have those opportunities. It give them a fair chance. So if you support us and fund our programs, you’re putting food in people’s mouths, clothes on people’s backs, you’re helping people go to school or get a job, or simply just to get the help they’re seeking.
Fans can support the ‘Caps #BuckUp for Mental Health campaign and Covenant House Vancouver in a variety of ways:
- Purchase a raffle ticket for a chance to win two round-trip tickets anywhere WestJet flies! Only 1,000 tickets are available and can be purchased for $20 each!
- Participate in the ‘Caps online auction, which includes a variety of unique items and one-of-a-kind experiences
- Donate online at whitecapsfc.com/buckup
- Donate in-person at the ‘Caps match on Saturday, June 3 versus Atlanta United FC
