October 27, 2024 • 14 mins
Original Air Date: October 27, 2024
Covenant House NY is organizing its Sleep Out New York event November 21st, asking people to leave the comfort of their bed for one night in solidarity with homeless youth, most of whom are not homeless by choice, but because they were thrown out of their homes. Sites include The Javits Center, Met Life Stadium and Covenant House Newark.
Covenant House NY is organizing its Sleep Out New York event November 21st, asking people to leave the comfort of their bed for one night in solidarity with homeless youth, most of whom are not homeless by choice, but because they were thrown out of their homes. Sites include The Javits Center, Met Life Stadium and Covenant House Newark.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, conversations about issues that matter.
Here's your host, three time Grasie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I want to introduce you to an extraordinary group of
people because they are connected to an extraordinary organization. I've
been trying to highlight their work for years now, and
we're talking about the wonderful Covenant House, which helps homeless youth.
(00:33):
And Lisa Crook is the chief Program officer of Covenant House,
New York. And Octavia, who is also with us, is
an alumni, a former resident of Covenant House. She now
works for Delta Airlines in customer service. And you must
(00:53):
have the patience of a Saint Octavia to be to
be doing that work. But the reason are joining us
is an event that is coming up, and I wanted
to put this show on to give you lots and
lots of advanced notice because this is something you This
is a one of a kind, in your lifetime type
(01:18):
of experience. It's coming up November fourteenth, and it's called Sleep. No,
I have the wrong date, correct me, November twenty third,
November twenty first, Okay, I looked online. I'm sorry, I
got it wrong. Okay, you have even more time coming
up November twenty. First, it's sleep out in New York.
(01:40):
And correct me if I'm wrong, because what this is
you're going to leave the comfort of your bed for
one night to spend the night on the streets like
homeless youth experience, thousands and thousands of them every single night,
and this is really in solidarity with those youth and
(02:05):
the work of Covenant House. Now, correct me if I'm wrong.
There are three different locations where this is happening, outside
the Javit Center at MetLife and in Newark at Covenant House.
Do I have those locations correct, Lisa?
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Okay, first of all, welcome and just tell the audience
in depth because I basically said what Covenant House does,
but people sort of don't have They have a perception
of homeless youth, which is an incorrect perception. They think
(02:45):
of them as runaways. As this is a choice, Lisa,
what's the real story?
Speaker 4 (02:53):
Well, Sally, thank you for having us on, thank you
for your kind words, and thank you for reasing awareness
for what our young people are experiencing. You know, four
point two million young people are homeless across the United States.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
This is not a small number of young people.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
This is not a small issue that we're talking about
and that we're sleeping out and raising awareness about.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
And I think you heard the nail on the head.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
As someone who came into this work, I've been working
with young people my entire career, and coming to Covenant House,
I quickly learned how.
Speaker 6 (03:35):
Little I knew about what brought young people into homelessness,
and how pervasive it is when a young person has
nowhere to go and no one to support them, and
what an amazing support that Covenant House can be.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
So there's a saying that goes around Covenant House, and
I don't know who it's attributed to, but someone said,
and it's thrown around all the time that the least
interesting thing about our young people that they're experiencing homelessness.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
We have young people who.
Speaker 7 (04:07):
Are working, who are going to school, who are studying
ethnobotany and nuclear pharmacology and things that I have no
idea what they are and get cross eyed when they're
telling me what their.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Tests are like. And they're remarkable.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
Young people who are at different points in their life
and do not have the support system that other young
people have, and they found themselves coming.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Through our doors. And if they need a bed, we
have a bed. If they need a meal, we have
a meal. If they need a shower, we have a shower.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
But it's young people from everywhere. There's different paths that
lead young people to our doors and at different points.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
In their life.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
And we may be in their lives for a night,
we may be in their lives for a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Octavia, we can't let her, We can't see to let
her go.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
We were talking about her the other day because she
left such a mark on the folks that worked with
her when she was there.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Octavia, tell us your story, please.
Speaker 8 (05:11):
I was inter dused to Kevin a house through my
high school guidance counselor back in twenty sixteen. I was
kicked out on my eighteenth birthday, not knowing where to go.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Or why were you kicked out? Why were you kicked out?
Speaker 8 (05:28):
So my foster parents, she wasn't too fond of me,
so she was planning on kicking me out of my
home for a while, but she wanted to make sure
that I was of an age or that I mean
why I didn't really need her help per se, She
(05:51):
just threw me out into the wolves after middle school.
So learned about Covening House through a guidance counselor in
my high school. Explained to her my situation, and she
went online looked.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Up resources and places.
Speaker 8 (06:10):
For youth without that without a home, and Covenant House
was the first place that popped up. And I was
able to packle my things head over there, not sure
of what I was going to experience.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So, yeah, and what did you experience?
Speaker 8 (06:39):
From my initial intake process, I was initially apprehensive. I
was promptly, realy sure by the staffs more than highness,
their own wavering support and provisions of extensional resources including clothing,
art classes, field trips. There have been. It has been
(07:02):
instrumental and inspiration and sorry, instrumental in my growth. The
mental health program in particular has had a profound impact
on my life for which I will remain forever grateful.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Sorry, I'm not how old? How old were you at
the time when your foster parent turned.
Speaker 8 (07:25):
You out at eighteen?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Right? Because yeah, people sort of have some protection till
they are eighteen and often find themselves without the support
services at that age. It's still very young. Did you
spend did you immediately end up at Covenant House or
(07:50):
did you have any time where you were actually homeless.
Speaker 8 (07:55):
I immediately went to heaven a House.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
So you were very, very lucky.
Speaker 8 (08:00):
Yes, I was extremely.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
How long were you there, Octavia?
Speaker 8 (08:05):
I was there from January third, twenty sixteen to January
third of twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Okay, so you were there a significant amount of time.
And Lisa had pointed out that some people are just
there overnight, some for a short amount of time, but
you basically had no other support services. I mean, your
whole life could have ended up differently had it not
(08:31):
been for Covenant House. Absolutely, and Lisa said that you
really left your mark there. I imagined that you helped
mentor other youth that came through Covenant House.
Speaker 8 (08:46):
Yes, for the most part, showing them the ins and
out helping them throughout the readiness programs, giving them insight
on what Covenant House has to offer as a whole,
and not just you know, them being there taking the
(09:08):
twos that were given to them.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
And you've been it for good.
Speaker 8 (09:11):
That makes sense. I'm not really an articulate person, so
bear with me as I.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Oh no, that's quite all right. All right, Well I'm
speaking now with Lisa Crooke, chief Program Officer of Covenant House,
New York, and Octavia, who is now an alumni but
was living at Covenant House for a number of years
and now works for Delta Airlines as an airline customer
(09:39):
service agent and Covenant House basically saved her life. Lisa,
what percentage of the young people that are helped by
Covenant House would you consider to be LBGTQ, Because you know,
I've heard so many stories. I've heard people say to me,
(10:01):
if my son is transgender, I'm throwing them out of
the house. I mean, they'll just say that because they
cannot they cannot deal. And so what is the reality.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
That's the reality, that's the common story.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
That's how many young people find their way to us.
And it's the numbers change, give or take, but it's
about twenty five to thirty percent of our young people
identify as LGBTQAI plus.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
We support them, affirm them, We.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Provide medical services, mental health services, we provide anything and
everything that they need. But most importantly, we're providing that
unconditional love and caring for them for who they are,
identify how they want to identify who they really are,
their name, their pronouns and everything we're there for them.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Okay, tell us about sleep Out New York, the event
coming up on the twenty first of November, and how
it started and how people can join and why it's
important to do this.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
Yeah, I mean, I think some of the things that
Octavia highlighted, those services, the supports, all of the things
that we can offer at Covenant House happened because individuals
support Covenant House and sleep Out and raise money and
raise the awareness and bring in corporate partnerships and all
(11:36):
sorts of individual support that allow us to do the
work that we're doing.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
The partnership with Delta, all of those things.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Happen because people care about the work that we're doing.
People want to help people understand that there's nothing wrong
or bad that our young people did that brought them
to us.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
It's the circum stances.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
Octavia the wonderful human being, and you know, we are
there to be the safety net for any young person
that doesn't have a safety net or whose safety net
doesn't affirm them and doesn't want them to be who
they are and sleep out of the way.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
To do that.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Okay, how do people join sleep Out New York on
the twenty first of November.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
They can go to our website and join a team.
They can create a team, they can raise money, they
can sleep out, they can.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Donate, or they can really join us.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
If they're in New York City and want to come,
they can give up their bed in solidarity and in support,
and they can talk to their friends and family about
the work that we do and.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Really help push our mission forward.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
You mentioned I didn't realize that Delta was in a
partnership with you. This is really important to point out
tell us about that partnership because this says a lot
about a company to me.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Yeah, Otavia can talk from experience, but Delta has a
workforce development program with us, and they train our young people.
We joke about learning what above wing and below wing means.
None of us knew that until Delta started their partnership
with us.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Even right now, we have nineteen young people I believe
that are.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Joining this new round of training with them, and they
support us in so many other ways. That's one concrete
way that they are making a difference in young people's
lives and Otavia living proof of that now working for them.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
We have less than a minute left. What if we
not said Octavia or Lisa that she would like to
impart to our audience.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
I'm just so grateful, Shelley for the time that you
have given us and for your listeners. I really hope
that we can go to our website, learn a little
bit more about what we do, donate volunteers whatever they.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Can do to help the young people that we support,
not just in New.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
York City, but in thirty five cities across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
We are everywhere, and thank God you are okay. Thank
you so much, Lisa Crook and Octavia.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
You've been listening to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, a production
of New York's classic rock Q one four point three
Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, conversations about issues that matter.
Here's your host, three time Grasie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I want to introduce you to an extraordinary group of
people because they are connected to an extraordinary organization. I've
been trying to highlight their work for years now, and
we're talking about the wonderful Covenant House, which helps homeless youth.
(00:33):
And Lisa Crook is the chief Program officer of Covenant House,
New York. And Octavia, who is also with us, is
an alumni, a former resident of Covenant House. She now
works for Delta Airlines in customer service. And you must
(00:53):
have the patience of a Saint Octavia to be to
be doing that work. But the reason are joining us
is an event that is coming up, and I wanted
to put this show on to give you lots and
lots of advanced notice because this is something you This
is a one of a kind, in your lifetime type
(01:18):
of experience. It's coming up November fourteenth, and it's called Sleep. No,
I have the wrong date, correct me, November twenty third,
November twenty first, Okay, I looked online. I'm sorry, I
got it wrong. Okay, you have even more time coming
up November twenty. First, it's sleep out in New York.
(01:40):
And correct me if I'm wrong, because what this is
you're going to leave the comfort of your bed for
one night to spend the night on the streets like
homeless youth experience, thousands and thousands of them every single night,
and this is really in solidarity with those youth and
(02:05):
the work of Covenant House. Now, correct me if I'm wrong.
There are three different locations where this is happening, outside
the Javit Center at MetLife and in Newark at Covenant House.
Do I have those locations correct, Lisa?
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Okay, first of all, welcome and just tell the audience
in depth because I basically said what Covenant House does,
but people sort of don't have They have a perception
of homeless youth, which is an incorrect perception. They think
(02:45):
of them as runaways. As this is a choice, Lisa,
what's the real story?
Speaker 4 (02:53):
Well, Sally, thank you for having us on, thank you
for your kind words, and thank you for reasing awareness
for what our young people are experiencing. You know, four
point two million young people are homeless across the United States.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
This is not a small number of young people.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
This is not a small issue that we're talking about
and that we're sleeping out and raising awareness about.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
And I think you heard the nail on the head.
Speaker 5 (03:25):
As someone who came into this work, I've been working
with young people my entire career, and coming to Covenant House,
I quickly learned how.
Speaker 6 (03:35):
Little I knew about what brought young people into homelessness,
and how pervasive it is when a young person has
nowhere to go and no one to support them, and
what an amazing support that Covenant House can be.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
So there's a saying that goes around Covenant House, and
I don't know who it's attributed to, but someone said,
and it's thrown around all the time that the least
interesting thing about our young people that they're experiencing homelessness.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
We have young people who.
Speaker 7 (04:07):
Are working, who are going to school, who are studying
ethnobotany and nuclear pharmacology and things that I have no
idea what they are and get cross eyed when they're
telling me what their.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Tests are like. And they're remarkable.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
Young people who are at different points in their life
and do not have the support system that other young
people have, and they found themselves coming.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Through our doors. And if they need a bed, we
have a bed. If they need a meal, we have
a meal. If they need a shower, we have a shower.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
But it's young people from everywhere. There's different paths that
lead young people to our doors and at different points.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
In their life.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
And we may be in their lives for a night,
we may be in their lives for a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Octavia, we can't let her, We can't see to let
her go.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
We were talking about her the other day because she
left such a mark on the folks that worked with
her when she was there.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Octavia, tell us your story, please.
Speaker 8 (05:11):
I was inter dused to Kevin a house through my
high school guidance counselor back in twenty sixteen. I was
kicked out on my eighteenth birthday, not knowing where to go.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Or why were you kicked out? Why were you kicked out?
Speaker 8 (05:28):
So my foster parents, she wasn't too fond of me,
so she was planning on kicking me out of my
home for a while, but she wanted to make sure
that I was of an age or that I mean
why I didn't really need her help per se, She
(05:51):
just threw me out into the wolves after middle school.
So learned about Covening House through a guidance counselor in
my high school. Explained to her my situation, and she
went online looked.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Up resources and places.
Speaker 8 (06:10):
For youth without that without a home, and Covenant House
was the first place that popped up. And I was
able to packle my things head over there, not sure
of what I was going to experience.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So, yeah, and what did you experience?
Speaker 8 (06:39):
From my initial intake process, I was initially apprehensive. I
was promptly, realy sure by the staffs more than highness,
their own wavering support and provisions of extensional resources including clothing,
art classes, field trips. There have been. It has been
(07:02):
instrumental and inspiration and sorry, instrumental in my growth. The
mental health program in particular has had a profound impact
on my life for which I will remain forever grateful.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Sorry, I'm not how old? How old were you at
the time when your foster parent turned.
Speaker 8 (07:25):
You out at eighteen?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Right? Because yeah, people sort of have some protection till
they are eighteen and often find themselves without the support
services at that age. It's still very young. Did you
spend did you immediately end up at Covenant House or
(07:50):
did you have any time where you were actually homeless.
Speaker 8 (07:55):
I immediately went to heaven a House.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
So you were very, very lucky.
Speaker 8 (08:00):
Yes, I was extremely.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
How long were you there, Octavia?
Speaker 8 (08:05):
I was there from January third, twenty sixteen to January
third of twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Okay, so you were there a significant amount of time.
And Lisa had pointed out that some people are just
there overnight, some for a short amount of time, but
you basically had no other support services. I mean, your
whole life could have ended up differently had it not
(08:31):
been for Covenant House. Absolutely, and Lisa said that you
really left your mark there. I imagined that you helped
mentor other youth that came through Covenant House.
Speaker 8 (08:46):
Yes, for the most part, showing them the ins and
out helping them throughout the readiness programs, giving them insight
on what Covenant House has to offer as a whole,
and not just you know, them being there taking the
(09:08):
twos that were given to them.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
And you've been it for good.
Speaker 8 (09:11):
That makes sense. I'm not really an articulate person, so
bear with me as I.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Oh no, that's quite all right. All right, Well I'm
speaking now with Lisa Crooke, chief Program Officer of Covenant House,
New York, and Octavia, who is now an alumni but
was living at Covenant House for a number of years
and now works for Delta Airlines as an airline customer
(09:39):
service agent and Covenant House basically saved her life. Lisa,
what percentage of the young people that are helped by
Covenant House would you consider to be LBGTQ, Because you know,
I've heard so many stories. I've heard people say to me,
(10:01):
if my son is transgender, I'm throwing them out of
the house. I mean, they'll just say that because they
cannot they cannot deal. And so what is the reality.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
That's the reality, that's the common story.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
That's how many young people find their way to us.
And it's the numbers change, give or take, but it's
about twenty five to thirty percent of our young people
identify as LGBTQAI plus.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
We support them, affirm them, We.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Provide medical services, mental health services, we provide anything and
everything that they need. But most importantly, we're providing that
unconditional love and caring for them for who they are,
identify how they want to identify who they really are,
their name, their pronouns and everything we're there for them.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Okay, tell us about sleep Out New York, the event
coming up on the twenty first of November, and how
it started and how people can join and why it's
important to do this.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
Yeah, I mean, I think some of the things that
Octavia highlighted, those services, the supports, all of the things
that we can offer at Covenant House happened because individuals
support Covenant House and sleep Out and raise money and
raise the awareness and bring in corporate partnerships and all
(11:36):
sorts of individual support that allow us to do the
work that we're doing.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
The partnership with Delta, all of those things.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Happen because people care about the work that we're doing.
People want to help people understand that there's nothing wrong
or bad that our young people did that brought them
to us.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
It's the circum stances.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
Octavia the wonderful human being, and you know, we are
there to be the safety net for any young person
that doesn't have a safety net or whose safety net
doesn't affirm them and doesn't want them to be who
they are and sleep out of the way.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
To do that.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Okay, how do people join sleep Out New York on
the twenty first of November.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
They can go to our website and join a team.
They can create a team, they can raise money, they
can sleep out, they can.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Donate, or they can really join us.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
If they're in New York City and want to come,
they can give up their bed in solidarity and in support,
and they can talk to their friends and family about
the work that we do and.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Really help push our mission forward.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
You mentioned I didn't realize that Delta was in a
partnership with you. This is really important to point out
tell us about that partnership because this says a lot
about a company to me.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Yeah, Otavia can talk from experience, but Delta has a
workforce development program with us, and they train our young people.
We joke about learning what above wing and below wing means.
None of us knew that until Delta started their partnership
with us.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Even right now, we have nineteen young people I believe
that are.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Joining this new round of training with them, and they
support us in so many other ways. That's one concrete
way that they are making a difference in young people's
lives and Otavia living proof of that now working for them.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
We have less than a minute left. What if we
not said Octavia or Lisa that she would like to
impart to our audience.
Speaker 5 (13:49):
I'm just so grateful, Shelley for the time that you
have given us and for your listeners. I really hope
that we can go to our website, learn a little
bit more about what we do, donate volunteers whatever they.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Can do to help the young people that we support,
not just in New.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
York City, but in thirty five cities across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
We are everywhere, and thank God you are okay. Thank
you so much, Lisa Crook and Octavia.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
You've been listening to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, a production
of New York's classic rock Q one four point three
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