Side by Side: The Legacy of a Mother’s Love 

Some lessons aren’t taught — they’re lived.  

We come from different states, different upbringings, different family dynamics. One of us was an only child raised by a single mother. The other grew up in a house full of children, many of them foster siblings. But the foundation of who we are — and why we fight for the young people of Covenant House — was laid by women with a lot in common. Women who believed in justice, in dignity, and in love that doesn’t flinch.  

There were no blueprints. No road maps. Just conviction, creativity, and a tireless commitment to make sure their children were never left behind. One taught her daughter how to barter for dance lessons, how to ask for help, how to properly pack her own bags, and how to do her makeup for performances, while she graded hundreds of middle school papers. Another opened her home to dozens of children, setting up cribs beside her son’s bed, trusting him to feed and comfort babies through the night. What they modeled, more than anything, was presence: showing up, again and again, even when it wasn’t easy. Especially when it wasn’t easy.  

In our houses, compassion was nonnegotiable. Kindness was free. And dignity wasn’t earned — it was inherent. That belief is the thread that binds our lives now to the mission of Covenant House. Because when you grow up seeing love made visible through sacrifice and service, you carry that example into everything you do.  

When one of us came out at 11, there was no dramatic reveal. Just a quiet, unwavering acceptance. “Choose a nice one,” her mother said, and meant it. No fear, no conditions. Just love. That’s the kind of foundation that gives a child permission to thrive.  

And when another of us woke before sunrise to warm bottles for babies who’d just arrived through the foster care system, he felt no resentment. Only responsibility. A sense that love meant making space for others — even when it disrupted your sleep or your schedule or your sense of what was yours alone.  

We both learned early what it means to believe in someone before they believe in themselves. And now we see that same spark in the young people of Covenant House. 

They come to us having weathered storms most adults can’t fathom. Many have survived rejection — from families, communities, systems. Some are parenting young children of their own. Some are discovering who they are in a world that hasn’t always made space for their truth. But every single one deserves what we had: someone who sees them. Someone who stays.  

At Covenant House, we’re surrounded by people — staff, mentors, former residents, board members — who embody that same radical love. We’ve watched young moms, like our fellow board members Hannah and April, raise their children with fierce tenderness, rewriting generational narratives in real time. We’ve witnessed mentors hold space for youth in ways that defy job descriptions. We’ve felt what happens when a young person realizes they’re not alone anymore.  

Motherhood isn’t always biological. Sometimes it looks like listening without judgment. Sometimes it looks like refusing to give up on a teenager who’s been let down too many times. Sometimes it looks like feeding a baby at 3 a.m. and then going to work. It looks like doing the next right thing, even when no one’s watching.  

That’s what our mothers taught us. And that’s the legacy we carry forward.  

This isn’t just personal. It’s generational. It’s structural. It’s deeply political. Because love without conditions shouldn’t be a privilege — it should be a right. Housing, safety, affirmation, opportunity: these are not luxuries. They are the building blocks of equity. And too often, young people who are most in need of them are the first to be denied.  

We can change that. Not by replicating our mothers’ exact footsteps, but by honoring their spirit — through advocacy, through presence, through policy, through care.  

We believe in the young people we serve. We believe in the futures they’re building. And we believe in our responsibility to keep walking beside them.  

That is the legacy. That is the work. That is the invitation.  

Ariana DeBose is a Golden Globe award winning actor, singer and dancer and a board member of Covenant House International. Bill Bedrossian is CEO of Covenant House International, the largest nonprofit in the Americas dedicated to providing shelter, support, and opportunity to young people overcoming homelessness.