When a young person walks through our doors for the first time, we have a single opportunity — to earn their trust, to meet their most basic needs, and to communicate unequivocally that their decision to come to us, to ask for help, to be vulnerable even when their instincts tell them to remain guarded, is the right one for them and their future. 

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That future starts with a moment. And with these choices. 

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At Covenant House Illinois, we meet the moment with resolve, compassion, readiness, and hope — grounded in expertise, best practices, and an unwavering belief in young people’s potential. 

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I’m reminded of a moment during last year’s ribbon cutting celebration and grand opening of our 18-bed Transitional Housing program – Rights of Passage. 21-year-old Amaiyah, one of our very first ROP residents and an extraordinary young poet, stood quietly while taking in the newly renovated space that would become her home for the next two years. She turned to me and said softly: 

“This feels dignified.” 

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Such a simple, yet profound moment I find myself frequently replaying when thinking about the role CHIL plays in the lives of our youth. In that brief exchange, the purpose of our work crystallized. Dignity is the foundation. Stability grows from it, and opportunity follows.  

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Since opening our doors in 2017, we have walked alongside more than 2,500 young people. Each arrived carrying their own defining moments – moments of rupture, loss, courage, and resilience. Each entrusted us with something sacred: their trust and their future.   

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We carry that responsibility forward into this moment. A moment of extraordinary challenge.  

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Across the country, public funding for homeless services, particularly at the federal level, faces reductions, restrictions, and growing uncertainty. Decisions increasingly shaped by political calculations rather than the needs of vulnerable communities threaten to erode critical safety nets just as the demand for them continues to grow. 

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At the same time, efforts to criminalize homelessness and ideological attacks on diverse populations — as well as on the organizations that serve them — are reshaping the national conversation in troubling ways. Too often, struggling young people are framed as an inconvenient problem to be managed or removed, rather than as human beings navigating the consequences of systemic failures that have unfolded over generations. 

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Youth homelessness is not an inconvenience. It is a national crisis that requires our collective attention, sustained investment, and compassionate solutions. 

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Locally, this is a moment in which youth homelessness in Chicago remains pervasive and complex. Mental health needs are intensifying. Sustainable, career-based youth employment opportunities are increasingly scarce. Affordable housing is, for more and more young people, an unattainable dream. The need is clear, and it is urgent. 

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In 2025, Covenant House International launched The Journey Home — a ten-year framework to end youth homelessness as we know it through coordinated strategies of prevention, intervention, and restoration. 

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Here at CHIL, our Board of Directors has advanced a complementary long-term vision of increased and sustained impact that includes a new and expanded Drop-In Center designed to meet immediate needs with dignity and accessibility, additional units of transitional housing to deepen long-term stability, and, ultimately, the creation of youth affordable housing – a transformative next chapter in CHIL’s evolution, creating pathways to permanence and true independence. 

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These are deliberate, strategic, and necessary steps. And each represents a crucial moment that will shape the future. 

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Like Amaiyah, all young people who walk through our doors choose courage in the moment they ask for help. Our board chose courage when it voted to expand. Our staff choose courage every day when they show up to do this important work. 

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Those moments are made possible because individuals and organizations choose to act — to give, to advocate, to volunteer, to open doors, to use their influence, to stand publicly for young people who too often go unseen. In short, to be courageous. 

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This is our moment. This is our chance to both acknowledge the scale of the challenge before us and to be brave enough to do something about it. 

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Every young person’s journey home should mark the beginning of their story — not its conclusion. 

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Moments shape futures. The one before us demands action. The future we envision, and the stories young people deserve to tell, will be built word by world and brick by brick – deliberately, courageously, and, most importantly, together. 

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Thank you for choosing to meet this moment with us. We are ready to face this together.

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– Susan Reyna-Guerrero, CHIL CEO