Covenant House Alaska Opens Cafe to Help Give Job Experiences to Homeless Youth

Standing in front of the Covy Café, Covenant House Alaska Executive Director, Deirdre Cronin and Gloria O'Neill, President/CEO of Cook Inlet Tribal Council, a Job Coach and a Covenant House Youth.

Part of Covenant House's mission to serve homeless youth throughout the Americas includes providing each with the chance to achieve independent and fruitful lives. One of the ways that Covenant House promotes this objective is by providing youth with vocational and job-training experiences in order to facilitate successful futures beyond Covenant House.

In line with this mission, Covenant House Alaska announced the grand opening of the Covy Café at the Westchester Lagoon, a public wildlife park just outside downtown Anchorage, in late May, 2008. The café is designed to help kids at Covenant House Alaska gain important job experience, marketable skills and instill a greater sense of responsibility in a healthy, safe and nurturing environment.

"This is a fantastic way for the kids to gain practical, real-life job experience that will hopefully benefit them when it's time to search for a long-standing job," said Deirdre Cronin, Executive Director of Covenant House Alaska. "Our hope for those youth who participate in running the Covy Café is that they emerge with a new sense of self-confidence when they face the workforce."

Covenant House Alaska has partnered with local businesses -- Wells Fargo, NineStar, SYSCO Foodservices, Coca Cola, Kaladi Brothers and many more -- to create this unique job development program.

"What we strive to give homeless youth at Covenant House goes above and beyond crisis care," said Sister Patricia A. Cruise, SC, President of Covenant House International. "Our hope and mission is to give these kids the confidence they need to face a bright, promising future with all the skills for independent success that they'll need."

The Covy Café offers a variety of snacks and beverages to the public hiking the trails through all seasons. In addition, the café houses the Westchester Lagoon Trail Watch Headquarters in order to promote trail safety. The Municipality of Anchorage and the Department of Parks and Recreation support and foster this effort by partnering to provide youth job training opportunities, as well as expanded services to the visitors of the Westchester Lagoon Trail Station.

The Café is open seven days a week -- Monday through Friday, 1 PM to 9 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM. All proceeds from sales go to much needed job training services for youth in Anchorage.

For almost 20 years, Covenant House Alaska has served Alaska's homeless and runaway youth. Covenant House Alaska's focus is caring for youth in crisis and being a valued part of the Anchorage community. Covenant House Alaska is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is committed to meeting Alaska's homeless and runaway youth's needs by providing shelter, food, clothing, and a listening ear.

Please visit us at Westchester Lagoon and see first hand the difference Covenant House Alaska makes in the lives of youth and the Anchorage community.

Please contact Alison Kear at 907 339-4407 or akear @ covenanthouseak.org for further information.