Leaving a Legacy to Help Others Live, Grow, and Prosper

Dana Brunson is the director of human resources at a psychiatric hospital in Baltimore, MD. She leads a staff of 10 and serves some 800 employees. “Is it stressful?” she muses. “Very much so.” And she loves every minute of it.  

Dana is also a member of Covenant House’s Kevin and Clare Ryan Cornerstone Society. She has included Covenant House in her will because she knows firsthand what it means to be young and homeless, and because she knows from experience that “support helps.”  

While she was never a resident of Covenant House, Dana says “the illuminating sign near the Greyhound bus station” on the outside wall of our old Covenant House shelter in New York City (it has since been rebuilt) “was a glimmer of hope. Through word of mouth, I knew Covenant House was a place of support, security, and help.” 

After running away several times from her home in Queens, Dana left for good at age 13. “I lived in a dysfunctional home, with physical as well as emotional abuse. Living on the street was a solution,” she says, as she believes it is for many young people who, like she, “would rather endure the elements outside than remain ‘home.’” 

Still, her escape was fraught with fear, challenges, and insecurity. It brought her into a life that was radically different from the upper middle class suburban life she was raised in, and she was not prepared for it. 

“Food becomes an issue; shelter becomes an issue,” she recalls. “I went to a great school in a great community.” Leaving all that was traumatic. Dana stayed with friends when she could and, otherwise, slept on the beach in Far Rockaway, Queens. 

All the while, the fact that Covenant House was nearby brought her comfort. “People I sat next to came from Covenant House, or they were on their way to Covenant House. I knew where Covenant House was, and many times I made it to the door, but never went inside.”  

Nevertheless, she says, “I knew it was there, and that was very hopeful to me. I always knew I could go there.” 

Dana remembers her friends talking about Covenant House and the kind and attentive care they received at our New York City shelter. “It was because of examples like that, of people talking about Covenant House, that, when the time came to give back, I chose Covenant House,” she says. 

Dana eventually made her way to a group home, where she lived until she was 18. “The system saved my life, and I am forever grateful,” she says. While the trauma of her early years never goes away, Dana, like so many of the youth who have come through the doors of Covenant House, has been building the life of her choosing. At 52, she has three children, 14 grandchildren, a successful career she loves, is pursuing a Ph.D., and she’s still growing. 

As she incorporates Covenant House into her estate plans, she says, “It helps to know I will be part of someone else’s story. They will never know my name, but they will know someone is here to support them. I will forever be part of a better life. 

“When I think about how I made it,” Dana adds, “I am overcome by raw emotion. I still hurt, but I know I can help someone live, grow, and prosper. I would like to tell them, ‘It gets better. Please hold on.’” 

Interested in estate planning, but not sure where to begin? Contact our planned giving team, who will be happy to speak with you in confidence.