A Father’s Blueprint: Build What You Never Had

Jason Villanueva remembers exactly where he was at 17: incarcerated, uncertain, and, in his own words, a “lost boy.”

His son, also named Jason, is 17 today, focused on a future in finance, exploring colleges, and building a life his father once couldn’t imagine. The contrast isn’t lost on either of them.

“It’s humbling,” Jason Sr. says. “I fought for my right to be privileged. My son, he was born into it.”

Jason’s journey from system-involved youth to present-day board member at Covenant House International isn’t just about personal growth, it’s about legacy. And this Father’s Day, he’s feeling all the emotions that come with watching his firstborn prepare to leave for college.

“There’s this separation anxiety that’s real,” he admits with a laugh. “I was selfish when I was younger. I had to be. But now that he’s leaving, it’s hitting me. I’m gonna miss him. He’s my best friend.”

Jason credits his transformation to what he calls “Cov Love,” the care, concern, and structure he found at Covenant House New York. When he arrived as a 19-year-old, he'd already spent most of his life in group homes, juvenile detention, and other systems that felt more like survival than support. He was looking for something more than a shelter. He was looking for a home.

“I didn’t want to be a lost boy. I wanted a family. Neverland sounds fun until it doesn’t. I wanted to feel safe.”

That safety, that consistency, and that unconditional love became the foundation for how Jason would later parent his own children.

“I couldn't love this kid until I learned how to love me,” he says. “And I learned that here. I learned that love is a practice. It’s something you build.”

These days, Jason Junior is thriving, not in spite of his father’s past, but because of the hard work Jason Sr. put into rewriting their family’s story. And while the younger Jason hasn’t lived his father’s struggle, they talk openly about the contrast.

“My trauma is not his,” Jason says. “He sleeps at night. But I still worry, because I know what can happen out there. So I warn him about the bad while pushing him toward the good. I give him my experience, and I give him my faith.”

Jason Jr. has grown up watching his father serve at Covenant House, at church, and in his community. He’s watched his dad show up for others the same way someone once showed up for him.

“There’s this picture of him at a Covenant House event,” Jason recalls. “He’s looking at me like I’m his hero. That moment? I look at that when I start to doubt myself.”

When asked what message he would share with young men at Covenant House who are already parenting or thinking about fatherhood one day, Jason doesn’t hesitate.

“Be selfish now so you can be selfless later,” he says. “Find yourself. Heal. Learn to love yourself. Because when you do, you’ll have more room in your heart to love someone else. You’ll be ready.”

As Jason prepares to send his son off into adulthood, he does so with gratitude, for the home that once took him in, for the faith that grounds him now, and for the chance to raise a child who never had to start where he did.

“I didn’t have leadership,” he says. “I didn’t have a home. But Covenant House gave me a foundation. And now, my sons benefit from the practice I was taught here 15 years ago. So thank you.”